Pakistan's military regime has released former information minister Mushahid Hussain, who served in ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government, after 14 months in detention.
"I am very happy to be back with my family and to be free to move," Hussain told AFP after his release Monday.
"I was innocent. No charges were brought against me. God has been kind that my innocence has been vindicated."
Hussain, who was taken into custody after the military coup on October 12 last year, said he was kept mostly under house arrest.
"I am looking forward to celebrating Eid with my family," he said, referring to the Muslim festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Raja Zafarul Haq, a leader of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, demanded military ruler General Pervez Musharraf free several other detainees, including former petroleum minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali.
Sharif, jailed for hijacking and terrorism, was freed from prison and exiled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month under an arrangement brokered by Saudi royalty.
US-based Human Rights Watch this month said respect for civil and political rights "deteriorated significantly" in Pakistan following the military coup.
"Opposition party members were subjected to prolonged detention without charge; some were tortured in custody," it said in a report.
The regime "moved to neutralize political parties" through the application of laws governing terrorism, sedition, and public order, and through the extra-constitutional "accountability" bureau, it said.
A government spokesman condemned the report, saying the regime "firmly believes in the rule of law and only corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who played havoc with national wealth are being targeted and brought to justice."
Dozens of senior politicians and bureaucrats have been rounded up as part of a tough anti-corruption drive backed by draconian laws which allow for detention without charge or trial for 90 days -- LAHORE (AFP)
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