Islamabad: Hours after hardline Islamic parties emerged as major players following the general elections in Pakistan, 12 pro-Taleban 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 on October 12 in the presence of leaders and supporters of religious parties, media reports 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 Taleban and were subsequently captured by the anti-Taleban forces. The Afghan government has so far handed over 200 Pakistani prisoners out of an estimated 1200.

PTI