ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: The post-Taliban administration in Jalalabad on Wednesday released 49 Pakistanis who had gone to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.

The fighters are supporters of Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM), which is based in the Pakhtoon-dominated tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistan-based AIP said the freed Pakistanis crossed the border into the Mohmand Agency late on Wednesday.

Thousands of Pakistani tribal volunteers, outraged at the US-led bombing campaign in Afghanistan, crossed the border last month at the behest of TNSM leader Soofi Mohammad.

AIP said the Jalalabad administration, which is run by Pakhtoon elders, had arrested around 200 Pakistanis who were in Jalalabad “to participate in Jihad against America.”

It said they were detained by local police chief Commander Hazrat Ali, who is close to the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

Negotiations are underway to secure the release of the remaining Pakistani prisoners, it added.

Sources in the tribal zone say a number of Pakistani volunteers were killed early this month in Mazar-i-Sharif, with some 2,000 being listed as missing. —AFP