Abducted Iran border guards freed by militant group

TEHRAN: A semi-official Iranian news agency is reporting that an al-Qaida-affiliated militant group Jaish al-Adl operating in a lawless frontier area along the Pakistan-Iran border has released Iranian border guards abducted two months ago.

Friday´s report by the Fars news agency quotes an unnamed official as saying the guards were handed over to Iranian officials in Pakistan. It did not elaborate.

According to Pakistan's Interior Ministry sources this was Iran's internal matter and the guards were released as a part of Tehran's prisoner swap with Jais al-Adl.

In February, the Jaish al-Adl group abducted five Iranian guards outside Sarbaz, a town in Iran´s restive Sistan-Baluchistan province near the border with Pakistan. The guards were reportedly taken to Pakistan.

A local official said last month that one of those abducted was killed. Also in March, Iran´s President Hassan Rouhani phoned Pakistan´s Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif asking for "serious action" to free the guards.

Taliban refuse to release abducted sons of Gilani, Taseer

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have refused to release the abducted sons of Late Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
 

However, the Taliban told the government’s committee that they are ready to release Professor Ajmal with a condition that the government would release their two men.

The Taliban claimed the Sindh government is committing atrocities against their prisoners.

Over release of two Taliban men, the government committee told the Taliban Shura that it would respond to the offer after talking to the Sindh government.

The government committee further said that issues relating to the release of non-combatants prisoners should be dealt separately.

Talks Progressing: Professor Ibrahim

Taliban peace committee member Professor Ibrahim has said that negotiations between the government and the Taliban are progressing in a positive way.

Exclusively talking to Geo News, Professor Ibrahim said the process of confidence building has begun, adding that they wanted to settle all issues amicably.