KABUL, Feb 10: Afghanistan on Monday released more than 130 prisoners, including 19 Pakistanis, as a gesture to mark Eid-al-Azha.

Nasir Ahmand Alawi, a spokesman for governor of western Herat province Ismail Khan, said 138 prisoners, over half of whom fought for the Taliban, had been freed.

“We freed 138 prisoners among which 72 of them are Afghan Taliban, and 19 are Pakistani Taliban,” Alawi said, adding that the remaining 47 were Afghan criminals.

The release coincided with the freeing of 39 Afghan prisoners by Pakistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday issued a decree saying that select prisoners should be pardoned due to the arrival of Eid and out of respect for “international human rights values”.

Afghanistan has freed several hundred Pakistani prisoners over the past year.—AFP