PESHAWAR, May 25: Afghanistan has agreed in principle to release the last batch of over 400 Pakistani prisoners being held in Kabul's notorious Pul-i-Churkhi prison.

Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul, Rustam Shah Mohmand told Dawn on phone from the Afghan capital that the release of these prisoners could take place in the next few days.

He said President Karzai's government had agreed to free 441 Pakistani militants captured by the US-led forces following the collapse of the Taliban government in November 2001.

If released, this would be the single largest and last batch of Pakistani prisoners from Afghanistan. The Afghan government has released more than 1,500 Pakistani prisoners from the Afghan jails so far.

One official said that the US had already conveyed to the Kabul government that it had no objection to the release of Pakistani prisoners. "This was the last hurdle in getting the release of our prisonersin Afghanistan and this too has beencleared.

Practically, there is no problem in letting these people go," said this official. He disclosed that Pakistan had assured to 'screen' all the returning militants to sort out the 'good guys' from the 'bad guys.'

A security official in Peshawar acknowledged in Peshawar that the government was in the process of setting up joint interrogation teams (JITs) to interrogate and debrief Pakistani prisoners on arrival from Kabul.

"Everything is being put in place," the security official said. "JITs are being set up to screen the returning Pakistanis," he said. Ambassador Mohmand said the prisoners to be released in one single batch would be bused from Kabul to Peshawar for onward interrogation in Rawalpindi. "Hopefully, this will happen in the next few days," he said.

Their release would complete the full repatriation of all those who had gone to Afghanistan to fight on the side of the Taliban against the US-led Northern Alliance forces.

They, however, would leave behind 20 to25 Pakistanis who are being held in Kabul on offences other than militancy. Most of those to be released are from the NWFP with some hailing from the Punjab also.

Pakistan made a request with Kabul to allow consular access to Pakistani prisoners, 22 of whom are said to be suffering from tuberculosis. "We have requested for consular access but they have not considered it yet.

Maybe they think that since they are going to be released any time soon, there is no need to any consular access," Mohmand argued. But he said that Pakistan was making efforts to secure the release of the Pakistani prisoners.

He said that he had raised the issue with Afghan Interior Minister Ahmad Jalali in a meeting in Kabul held on Tuesday, wherein the issue of prisoners' release was discussed.