DUBAI, Nov 19: The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, has mediated a deal for the release of 249 Pakistanis imprisoned in Afghanistan.

The Khaleej Times newspaper said Sheikh Zayed had struck the deal after having instructed his ambassador in Islamabad, who also represents the UAE in Kabul, to intervene with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to obtain their release.

Ambassador Ali Mohammed al-Shami said after returning from Kabul that the Afghan authorities had agreed to free 249 Pakistanis who were not wanted by Karzai’s government.

Starting on Thursday the prisoners will be freed in small groups from prisons in Kabul, the Panjsher Valley, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, Shami was quoted as saying.

The Khaleej Times said the UAE in June obtained the release of 650 Pakistanis detained in Afghanistan.

Around 1,000 Pakistanis are still believed to be languishing in Afghan jails.—AFP