News
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Over 25 Pakistani prisoners in US custody in Afghanistan
LAHORE: The US army, for the first time, has confirmed the presence of more than 25 Pakistani prisoners in Afghanistan, whereas the Americans have denied mentioning their detention period or nationality. In an interview with BBC Urdu in Kabul, the US army spokesperson said that there was a very less number of prisoners, “meaning less than 50”, belonging to some third-world country, adding that a little more than half of this group are Pakistani nationals. He said that he could not reveal anything about the Pakistanis in order to ensure the security of US soldiers, Afghan nationals, and prisoners and to guard the secret information, the channel said. The Foreign Office has also confirmed that more than 265 Pakistani nationals are detained in Afghan jails apart from Bagram. In a separate interview with BBC Urdu, Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit had confirmed that 20 Pakistani nationals were in US custody. On the other hand, according to a statement coming from the Americans, the number of detainees is more than that. Basit said the exact number of missing people was not known, adding that unfortunately he did not have the exact facts and figures of such cases. He said that whenever such a case occurred, the only way to find out about them was to ask Afghan officials or the allied forces. Moreover, the Foreign Office admitted that the progress regarding the prisoners’ exchange agreement between the two countries was quite slow, the channel reported. Hundreds of Pakistani nationals, allegedly having links with al Qaeda and the Taliban, were detained after the post 9/11 US invasion of Afghanistan. daily times monitor