Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Karzai Releases More Taliban Prisoners: "KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - President Hamid Karzai ordered the release Sunday of more former Taliban fighters, a highly symbolic move that could boost his standing and undermine holdouts from the ousted hardline Islamic regime.
Karzai issued a decree saying all Afghans detained at the northern Sheberghan prison and not considered dangerous should be set free immediately.
It was unclear how many inmates were affected. Local officials said the jail holds more than 400 suspected Afghan Taliban.
The government hopes the move, like the return of millions of Afghans from exile and the release last week of dozens of Pakistanis who fought with the Taliban, will help heal the wounds left by the latest episode in the country's almost quarter-century of conflict."
Karzai issued a decree saying all Afghans detained at the northern Sheberghan prison and not considered dangerous should be set free immediately.
It was unclear how many inmates were affected. Local officials said the jail holds more than 400 suspected Afghan Taliban.
The government hopes the move, like the return of millions of Afghans from exile and the release last week of dozens of Pakistanis who fought with the Taliban, will help heal the wounds left by the latest episode in the country's almost quarter-century of conflict."
Comments