By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL
Faizullah Khan, a Pakistani journalist detained in Afghanistan on charges of illegally entering the country and conspiring with the Taliban, has been released following a presidential decree Sunday.
Outgoing President Hamid Karzai issued orders for Khan's release after a special request from journalists from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistani Embassy spokesman Akhtar Munir confirmed the news. Talking to The Anadolu Agency, he said Khan was released from a prison in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.
Khan, who works for Karachi-based TV station ARY News was convicted by a court in Nangarhar and sentenced to four years in prison in July following his arrest in April this year.
Afghanistan’s spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, suspected Khan of spying and collaborating with militants but no formal charge was brought against him.
Wafiullah Usmani, a court official in eastern Afghanistan had alleged in July that photos found on Khan’s cell phones demonstrated that he was assisting the insurgents.
Pakistan had previously urged the Afghan government to pardon the detained journalist. Minister of Information Pervez Rashid personally appealed to President Karzai to pardon Khan.
Reporters Without Borders, along with other press freedom organizations, had condemned the ruling.
"Such a sentence for a journalist is scandalous and out of all proportion," said Benjamin Ismail, the head of Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific desk, following Khan’s conviction.
The Pakistani Embassy said Khan would travel to home tomorrow via the Torkham border crossing.
www.aa.com.tr/en
