US frees 14 more Pakistanis from Bagram prison

Published September 21, 2014
– AP/File Photo
– AP/File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Fourteen Pakistani detainees were released from US custody in Bagram Prison in Afghanistan and repatriated to Pakistan on Saturday, a Pakistani legal firm representing some of the prisoners said.

Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) has been representing several Bagram detainees since 2010 in a bid to force the Pakistani government to bring them home.

So far no information has been provided by the Pakistani authorities on the names of the released detainees or their current whereabouts, said Sarah Belal, a lawyer with the JPP.

One of the released detainees is 29-year-old Abdul Halim Saifullah, Belal said, citing information from the Red Cross.

She said he disappeared nine years ago from the southern city of Karachi after dropping his father off at a hospital and has been detained in Bagram ever since.

Including the group released on Saturday, 39 Pakistanis have been released from Bagram in the past 10 months. At least one Pakistani is thought to still be in prison there, although the exact numbers are unclear since no official list has been provided since 2012.

Sarah Belal, lead counsel for Justice Project Pakistan, said the government did not inform the families about the release and she feared the men may now be transferred to secret Pakistani prisons.

“We still don't know about the whereabouts of the nine detainees released last month. The lack of clarity with today's tranche gives us reason to fear that they too may be held incommunicado by the Pakistani authorities,” she said.

Opinion

Editorial

Upholding rights
27 Jul, 2024

Upholding rights

EVEN a perceived threat to civil rights and freedom of expression undermines democracy; it impedes the enforcement ...
Brutal crime
27 Jul, 2024

Brutal crime

THE horrific incident of a woman allegedly gang-raped in front of her husband and three-year-old daughter near...
Back in parliament
27 Jul, 2024

Back in parliament

MORE than two years after MNAs loyal to former prime minister Imran Khan fatefully resigned from the legislature...
Judicial constraints
Updated 26 Jul, 2024

Judicial constraints

The fact that it is being prescribed by the legislature will be questioned, given the political context.
Macabre spectacle
26 Jul, 2024

Macabre spectacle

Israel knows that regardless of the party that wins the presidency, America’s ‘ironclad’ support for its genocidal endeavours will continue.