SWAT, Sept 26: The government on Wednesday reportedly released three companions of radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, known locally as Maulana Radio, in exchange for two policemen held hostage by his supporters, official sources said.

Following successful negotiations between the Maulana and the administration, an agreement was reached to release the detained persons, officials said.

A high-ranking police official confirmed to Dawn that three supporters of the cleric, arrested after a blast at the Pakistan-Austrian Institute for Tourism and Hotel Management on September 20, were released.

It is learnt that the militants also returned the weapons and other equipments seized after the kidnapping of the two policemen during an attack on a checkpoint on September 22.

The Swat District Coordination Officer Mohammad Jawed tried to dispel the impression that the three suspects had been released as part of an understanding with the cleric. He told Dawn that the release of the accused and the policemen were two separate cases and had no link with each other.

“The three arrested persons were taken away by the Criminals Investigation Department in Peshawar and were released after thorough interrogation as they were not involved in any crime,” the Swat District Police Officer (DPO) said.