Dostum frees seven prisoners

Uzbek warlord Abdul Rasheed Dostum freed seven ill Pakistani prisoners and promised to release the remaining 600 within two to three weeks after a meeting with Pakistan's ambassador in Afghanistan on Sunday.

Sources in Shiberghan, Dostum's headquarters in the northern Jauzjan province, told Gulf News that the freed prisoners were handed over to Ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand, who would take them to Kabul for their onward journey to Pakistan. These ill prisoners at the Shiberghan prison were in urgent need of proper medical care.

Dostum had earlier freed about 250 Pakistani prisoners. Some of these prisoners were re-arrested by Afghan authorities loyal to Defence Minister Qasim Fahim while on their way to Pakistan and locked up in jails in Kabul. Most were subsequently released and allowed to travel to Pakistan.

The meeting between Dostum and Mohmand lasted two hours. Later, Mohmand visited the sprawling Shiberghan jail for about three hours and met the Pakistani prisoners. He also met the officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who are providing medical and mail service to the prisoners.