Captured US soldier was treated well: Taliban

KABUL: The Taliban said Friday that US Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was treated well during the five years they held him captive and was even allowed to play soccer with the men holding him.

The spokesman, Zaibullah Mujahid, told The Associated Press by telephone that Bergdahl was held under "good conditions," and was given fresh fruit and any other foods he requested.

"You can ask him in America about his life (in captivity). He will not complain," Mujahid said.

He said Bergdahl was held in different locations inside Afghanistan, without providing further details.

He said the soldier enjoyed playing soccer as well as reading, including English-language books about Islam.

Since Bergdahl´s release senior officials, including President Barack Obama, have said the prisoner swap that involved the release of five high-profile Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, and which has caused a furor in the United States, was hastened by concerns the Army sergeant´s physical health was deteriorating.

But the Obama administration later told senators it did not notify Congress about the pending swap because of intelligence the Taliban might kill Bergdahl if the deal was made public, congressional and administration officials said Thursday.

Under the deal, five Taliban militants were released from Guantanamo and flown to Qatar, where they are to remain for a year under conditions that have not been spelled out in public.

A federal law requires Congress to be told 30 days before a prisoner is released from Guantanamo, but Obama administration officials said it did not apply in what they deemed an emergency situation. (AP)

Army shouldn’t be treated as domestic servants: Shujaat

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that the army should not be treated as domestic servants and humiliated.

Talking to reporters at his residence here on Sunday, the former prime minister said the army should be accepted with good intentions. Ch Shujaat said it was rather strange that head of the state was being reported as saying that if Pervez Musharraf is given death sentence and the prime minister writes to him to grant him pardon, he will pardon him. He also asked that whether saying that even before the court verdict would be a contempt of court.

In replying to a question, he said Shahbaz Sharif had not quit politics of vendetta; he tries to rough them up whether they say anything against his family or not. He said they had concrete proofs of victimisation at the hands of Shahbaz Sharif.

Ch Shujaat said one could only smile on the claim of setting up of the biggest steel mills in the world in Chiniot. The present government was not able to run the existing steel mills even, he said.

Ch Shujaat said voters did not defeat the PML-Q but was defeated with the connivance of the returning officers and the army officials had not allowed him and Ch Pervaiz Elahi to enter the office of the returning officer.

Shujaat said the interests of Pakistani farmers should be taken care of in agricultural trade with India, as prices could decrease by importing potato, tomato, ginger from India and it would damage interests of Pakistani farmers.

Ch Shujaat said holding of local government elections was a constitutional requirement and its violation was treason. He claimed that Nawaz-League did not want to hold LG polls.The PML-Q president said that economy of Pakistan could not be set right with the induction of one-and-a-half billion dollars. The PML-Q government had broken the begging bowl but the incumbent rulers have picked up a “deg” for the purpose.