ISLAMABAD: Pakistan freed cricket hero Imran Khan and hundreds more political prisoners yesterday in a further easing of emergency rule as military ruler Pervez Musharraf readied to hang up his army uniform.
Officials said Musharraf would likely quit as army chief and take the oath of office as a civilian president by the weekend, meeting a key demand of the international community outraged by his state of emergency.
Meanwhile, authorities announced that more than 5,134 people detained under emergency measures – mostly lawyers, opposition party workers and human rights activists – had been released in the past few days. – AFP