Nineteen Pakistanis are detained at US jails at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and the government is trying to get them released, the National Assembly was told on Monday.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, in a written reply to a question by Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha, said that 99 Pakistanis had been detained at both jails, but 80 had been released. Five of the remaining detainees are in Guantanamo and 14 in Bagram.
Sherpao said a Pakistani delegation visited Guantanamo Bay in August 2006 to ensure Pakistani prisoners, including Saifullah Piracha, get consular access. The delegation interviewed the Pakistani detainees and engaged representatives of the US State and Defence departments in talks, urging them to release the Pakistanis, he said. |