Senior Taliban officials freed under amnesty deal

Afghanistan’s new interim government has allowed a number of senior Taliban officials to return to their homes after granting them an amnesty because they agreed to recognise the new regime.

The men surrendered to Hamid Karzai’s interim administration following the fall of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Jalal Khan, a close associate of Kandahar Governor Gul Agha, said: "Those men who have surrendered are our brothers and we have allowed them to live in a peaceful manner.

However, they will not participate in politics." Among those freed were former Defence Minister Mullah Ubaidullah and former Justice Minister Nooruddin Turabi, as well as Abdul Haq, the former security chief in Herat province, Mullah Saauddin, the former Minister of Mines, and other senior officials.