RAWALPINDI, Oct 30: The chief of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the MNA-elect, Azam Tariq, was released here on Wednesday on the orders of Lahore High Court, Adiala jail authorities said.

Azam Tariq, the chief of the defunct SSP, told reporters soon after he was released from Sihala resthouse that he had been offered to either leave Pakistan or not to contest general elections in lieu of his release, but he refused to compromise on principles.

He said: “I am happy that people who were supportive of our policies have won elections in large number.”

Azam Tariq was arrested on charges of leading protest demonstrations against President Pervez Musharraf’s support to the US-led military action in Afghanistan.