January 23, 2002	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1422

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KABUL, Jan 22: About 30 Pakistani and 10 Afghan Taliban members captured in Kunduz two months ago are to go on trial soon in Kabul, Afghanistan’s deputy intelligence chief Abdullah Jan Tawhidi said on Tuesday.

They are among 300 Taliban fighters moved to Kabul last week from Kunduz, where they were captured by Northern Alliance forces, Tawhidi said.

The majority of the Afghans will be freed under an amnesty granted to Taliban members.

“Most of them will be set free soon. Many are simple people who were just following their leaders. We have nothing against them,” he said.

“However, we will put their leaders on trial — there are about 10 of them, maybe less.”

All the Pakistanis, he added, “must go to court”.

The court will decide what charges the prisoners will face but they could be up for murder, he added.

Tawhidi said six prisoners captured on the outskirts of Kabul on Friday were Taliban after it was initially believed they were members of the Al Qaeda network.

“They changed their clothes and tried to hide the fact they were Taliban, but the police discovered the truth,” he said.

Investigations were continuing into the activities of the six and their driver, but they were unlikely to be charged, he said.

The prisoners moved from Kunduz said they had been forced to join the Taliban and denied ever supporting the hardline militia.

“We were told we were to be freed in one or two days, but that was 10 days ago,” said one prisoner, Mahmad Barat.

“We just want to be free so we can go back to our homes and carry on our lives,” he added. “Our families don’t know where we are — or even if we are alive.”—AFP