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THE STANS
Pakistan to release 13 Taliban prisoners: minister
by Staff Writers
Islamabad (AFP) April 05, 2014


Four abducted soldiers back in Iran: reports
Tehran (AFP) April 06, 2014 - Four Iranian soldiers abducted by Sunni extremists have returned home after being held for two months in neighbouring Pakistan, state media on Sunday cited the intelligence ministry as saying.

The ministry did not address the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, a fifth soldier abducted alongside his fellow border guards on February 6.

The Jaish-ul Adl ("Army of Justice", in Arabic) rebel group, which says it is fighting for the rights of Shiite-majority Iran's Sunni Muslim population, said Danayifar was executed in late March.

"Four of the abducted border guards returned to the Islamic homeland," the ministry said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB's website.

Reports on Friday said the four, along with Danayifar's body, had been handed over to Iranian officials inside Pakistan after being released.

No details were immediately available on where the soldiers had been held while prisoner, or how Iran secured their freedom.

The five were abducted in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, while serving their 24-month mandatory military service near the border with Pakistan.

The news that Danayifar had been "executed" drew international condemnation, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling it an "appalling act".

A US State Department spokesman called for the "swift release" of the Iranian conscripts.

Jaish-ul Adl had warned of further killings if Tehran refused to "release Sunni prisoners".

In November, the group claimed responsibility for killing a local prosecutor, a month after it killed 14 Iranian border guards in an ambush.

Iran's border guards chief Hossein Zolfaghari said there was "negligence" in the lead-up to the kidnapping, and that those responsible have been suspended with some facing prosecution.

Pakistan will release another 13 Taliban prisoners as a "goodwill gesture" to help ongoing peace talks with militants, the interior minister said Saturday.

The announcement came after the Pakistani Taliban on Friday extended a ceasefire by six days, stating they were doing so to allow the government more time to meet their demands of releasing "non-combatant" prisoners and pulling back soldiers.

"The government has decided to release 13 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture," Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters after meeting Taliban and government peace committees.

He urged the Islamists to reciprocate, calling for the release of a senior academic -- Professor Mohammad Ajmal -- as well the sons of slain former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, and some foreigners and government employees.

"The other side should also reciprocate and release non-combatants," Khan said, adding that the talks would bring peace into country.

The government began negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) through intermediaries in February to try to end the Islamists' bloody seven-year insurgency.

The umbrella militant group had demanded the release of what they called "non-combatant" prisoners and the establishment of a "peace zone" where security forces would not be present.

Last month the Taliban handed over a list of 300 people including women, children, and old men, seeking their release.

On Wednesday, the government handed over 19 tribesmen based in South Waziristan, calling them "non-combatant Taliban prisoners".

But militia's spokesman denied the men had been sought by them or were its members.

Khan noted that the attacks had "considerably reduced" since the start of peace talks with TTP, and said the peace process had entered a new phase.

"By the time the next round of direct talks is held next week, the number of released prisoners will reach around 30," Khan said.

Sami-ul-Haq, a member of the Taliban negotiating committee which attended Saturday's session, told reporters that a government meeting with the Taliban Shura (council) was likely to take place in the next two to three days.

"Government is talking all possible measures for the success of peace talks and both sides want durable peace in the country," Haq said.

The peace talks were a key campaign pledge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before he was elected to office for a third time last year.

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