Pakistan releases 24 'Taleban fighters'

The authorities in Pakistan say they have released from custody 24 men who were arrested on suspicion of fighting for the Taleban in Afghanistan.

They were among some 400 people who were detained on their return to Pakistan from Afghanistan late last year.

A spokesman for the governor of Punjab province Allama Tahir Ashrafi said they were released because they were found to have no links with outlawed Islamic groups, and had promised to stay away from them.

At least another thirty Pakistanis are still being questioned about their links to extremist groups.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service