Islamabad, Oct 13: Hours after hardline Islamic parties emerged as major players following the general elections in Pakistan, 12 pro-Taliban prisoners were released from a jail in the province of Baluchistan. The 12 men, who were handed over to Pakistan by the Afghan government a couple of months ago, were released from the district jail in Quetta yesterday in the presence of leaders and supporters of religious parties, media reports here said.

The 12 men were released by the provincial government of Baluchistan after a joint investigation team declared them "white", 'Daily Times' reported.

All of them had gone to Afghanistan in 1997 to fight along with Taliban and were subsequently captured by the anti-Taliban forces. The afghan government has so far handed over 200 Pakistani prisoners out of an estimated 1200.
Local MMA leader Maulvi Noor Muhammad, who has been elected to the national assembly, received the 12 men outside the jail along with hundreds of Taliban supporters and took them in a procession to the office of Jamat-Ulema Islami (JuI) -- one of the partners of the MMA. Bureau Report