3 Bangladeshis released from Kabul jail

Three Bangladeshis were released from Kabul jail as the Taliban have opened the doors of Pul-e-Charkhi, the main prison in Kabul, shortly after taking power to liberate imprisoned Taliban fighters.

Four Bangladeshis, including the released, have been held captive in Pul-e-Charkhi prison for many years on charges of illegal VoIP business and aiding the Taliban.

Jahangir Alam, Bangladesh's ambassador to Uzbekistan, confirmed the matter saying that one of the prisoners had been released and the other two had probably been.

As Bangladesh has no embassy in Afghanistan, the Bangladesh Embassy to Uzbekistan is responsible for maintaining diplomatic relations with the country.

The three released Bangladeshis are - Moin Al Mezbah from Daulatpur Upazila of Khulna, Kawsar Sultana from Mirpur (Vasantek) of Dhaka and Ubaidullah Harun of Fulgazi Upazila in Feni.

According to embassy records, no trace of Siraj Abdus Sattar, the fourth Bangladeshi in jail, has been found yet and there is no information about his district or upazila in Bangladesh in the embassy.

Meanwhile, Jahangir Alam said that six out of nine employees of the private development agency BRAC are safe at the home of the country's director. Three of them have already returned to Bangladesh and the remaining six are scheduled to leave Kabul on August 18.

Ambassador Jahangir Alam claimed that no Bangladeshi in Afghanistan has been reported injured or in danger so far.