Afghan President Hamid Karzai, during his three-day visit to Pakistan starting from July 26, will announce the repatriation of 400 Pakistanis languishing in Afghan jails, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn on Friday. During the visit, the Afghan president will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and other senior officials. More than 700 Pakistanis were put behind bars in Afghanistan after the downfall of the Taliban government. These Pakistanis were accused of having links with the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Talking to Dawn, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan confirmed that Pakistani prisoners would be released soon. He said that besides the issue of repatriation of jailed Pakistanis, other matters to figure in talks with the Afghan delegation would be terrorism, border security, trade and economic uplift of Afghanistan. Responding to a question, the FO spokesman said that during Mr Karzai's visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the two countries under which Afghan refugees in Pakistan would take part in the presidential elections in Afghanistan scheduled to be held in October this year. |