May 27, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1424

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KABUL, May 26: Afghanistan released 66 Pakistani prisoners on Monday who had fought alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda, a spokesman for Deputy Defence Minister General Abdul Rashid Dostam said.

“Today at 10am (0530 GMT) a group of 66 Pakistani prisoners was released from Shebergan prison according to President (Hamid) Karzai’s decision and his special adviser Gen Dostam,” he said, referring to the northern Afghanistan jail notorious for its charnel-house conditions.

They had been handed over to a Pakistani non-governmental organization, which transported them in buses from Shebergan, capital of northwestern Jozjan province, to Kabul and on to Pakistan, he said.—AFP