ATTOCK, March 3: All of the five detainees including three foreigners, believed to be US nationals, were released by the Attock City police after verification of their travel documents and other particulars on Saturday.

They were released at about 2 am, and had earlier been detained by the police on Friday evening. Police sources informed that three foreigners James Richard, Jonathan Pawl and Daniel Ryan  and  their two Pakistani women companions  Saba Gul and Sumera Saher were released after the verification of their travel documents and other particulars during their over six hours interrogation.

After the report of the district police and Intelligence agencies that reportedly all foreigners were found US nationals having valid visas and no suspicious belongings, the higher authorities of the government directed the district police for their release as well as that of their impounded car (Sindh-ATG-932), sources said.

However, they were reported to have with them latest cameras and others electronic gadgets. Sources further informed that investigation also revealed that foreigners along with the two Pakistan women had visited the office of Abdul Rehman, an Afghan national and caretaker of Al-Barkat NGO at People’s Colony which is being funded by a US donor agency.

But they neither informed the US embassy nor sought prior permission from the concerned quarters of the Pakistan government for their visit.

Therefore, the information about secret presence created suspicion among the law enforcement agencies as many areas of Attock district had been declared restricted for the foreigners due to security reasons.

However, the district administration was still to issue any statement to the local media about the incident.