PESHAWAR, July 19: A batch of 66 prisoners, set free by the Afghan government in Kabul, arrived at Torkham checkpost on Monday night, officials said.

Sources said that the prisoners, who had been driven in three buses from Kabul, arrived at Torkham border town at about 9pm.

These prisoners were released from Kabul jail around 11am and handed over to the officials of the Pakistan Embassy. After the prisoners' arrival at Torkham, the Afghan officials handed them over to the local officials.

Officials said that the released prisoners would be shifted to Peshawar Central Jail for de-briefing after completing legal formalities at the border checkpost. These prisoners were recently shifted from Shiberghan jail in northern Afghanistan where 500 Pakistani prisoners are still languishing.

These people had gone to Afghanistan in 2001 for fighting alongside the Taliban against the US forces. The Afghan government announced the release of the prisoners in the wake of the visit to Kabul by Federal Minister for Interior Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat last week.