KABUL (PAN): So far 2,353 prisoners held at the notorious Bagram detention centre in central Parwan have been shifted to Afghan custody since the signing of an agreement on transferring the prison to local authorities, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.

Under the accord inked on March 9 in Kabul between Afghan Defence Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak and United States commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, the American military will hand over all detainees to Afghan authorities until September 9.

A defence ministry statement said 2,353 prisoners were given into Afghan custody as of July 18. It added a special committee had been assigned with investigation into the cases of prisoners.

The committee has so far investigated 2,032 cases, declaring 1,306 of them worth prosecuting. The committee has sent 726 cases to the review board, investigated 268 of them and suggested the release of 169 prisoners.

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