Ex-prisoners to arrive in Peshawar

Eighty-seven Pakistani prisoners in Afghanistan are expected to reach here today following their release in Kabul.

Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand, said the freed men would be driven to Peshawar via the border town of Torkham.

They would be taken into custody by Pakistani authorities after crossing the border for debriefing. The process could take several weeks just like earlier prisoners who were imprisoned once they were back home from Afghanistan.

They include about 47 woodcutters from Swat and Dir districts who had gone to Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan some months ago to seek work with forest contractors. Afghan contractors hire the woodcutters every summer and take them to Afghanistan without visas.