JALALABAD (PAN): US forces have released a tribal ‎elder of Sherzad district in eastern Nangarhar province after ‎spending seven and a half years in the notorious Bagram ‎jail.‎

The foreign forces had detained Haji Pacha Wazir on the ‎charge of cooperation with Taliban insurgents. He was ‎handed over to Nangarhar governor Gul Agha Sherzai on ‎Thursday.‎

Speaking at a gathering held in this regard, Sherzai said the ‎release came after their repeated calls to the peace ‎promotion council and officials of the US embassy and ‎president Hamid Karzai. He thanked the US forces for ‎releasing the man.‎

The governor said the forces had promised him to release ‎another detainee Mohammad Daud, the son of a tribal elder ‎Sabet Zahir. "I will continuously endeavour to secure the ‎release of the last man from eastern province," he vowed.‎

Head of provincial council, Nasratullah Arsala, demanded ‎of Americans to release tribal elders from their prisons as ‎soon as possible.‎

NATO deputy chief in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Haword, said ‎they were committed to hand over Afghan prisoners in their ‎custody to the Afghan government. He promised to release ‎about 800 inmates until the end of this year.‎

After his release, Haji Pacha Wazir, told reporters that there ‎were several other innocent people detained in the Bagram ‎jail. He said one from the Torabora had been imprisoned ‎since last 6.5 years even he became mentally-sick there.‎

He said he was jailed for several years without comitting ‎any sin. "I am a businessman and had no links with ‎Taliban, but the Americans charged me of helping ‎Taliban," he added. However, he said he was not ‎humiliated during his detention. ‎

To a question, he said he had no access to a US court to ‎seek justice against his detention.

myn/ma‎