Pakistani authorities have freed hunger-striking cricket legend Imran Khan from prison, where he has been detained for the past week under anti-terrorism laws, jail officials said.
'We have released Imran Khan on the instructions of the provincial government,' Sheikh Inamur Rehman, superintendent of Dera Ghazi Khan prison in central Punjab province, told Agence France-Presse.
'I personally saw him off at the prison gate,' he said, adding that Khan was released at 7.45 pm (1445 GMT).
Khan was detained last week and charged under anti-terrorism laws after he tried to lead a student protest in Lahore against a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf. He began a hunger strike on Monday.
'Imran Khan has been released,' the inspector general of Punjab police, Sarfraz Mufti, told AFP in Lahore.
Khan's sister Allema earlier said Khan had stopped drinking water and that he was increasingly weak on the third day of his hunger strike.
Officials said Khan would be among more than 250 prisoners being released in Punjab, the most populous of Pakistan's four provinces and the country's political heartland.
'This is a goodwill gesture from the interim government because it wants to give a level playing field to all political parties before the election campaign gets underway,' a senior provincial government official said.
Caretaker governments took power in Pakistan's provinces on Monday to prepare for national and provincial elections on Jan 8.
'The Punjab government is also going to offer Imran official transport to return to Lahore,' the official said.
'We have released Imran Khan on the instructions of the provincial government,' Sheikh Inamur Rehman, superintendent of Dera Ghazi Khan prison in central Punjab province, told Agence France-Presse.
'I personally saw him off at the prison gate,' he said, adding that Khan was released at 7.45 pm (1445 GMT).
Khan was detained last week and charged under anti-terrorism laws after he tried to lead a student protest in Lahore against a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf. He began a hunger strike on Monday.
'Imran Khan has been released,' the inspector general of Punjab police, Sarfraz Mufti, told AFP in Lahore.
Khan's sister Allema earlier said Khan had stopped drinking water and that he was increasingly weak on the third day of his hunger strike.
Officials said Khan would be among more than 250 prisoners being released in Punjab, the most populous of Pakistan's four provinces and the country's political heartland.
'This is a goodwill gesture from the interim government because it wants to give a level playing field to all political parties before the election campaign gets underway,' a senior provincial government official said.
Caretaker governments took power in Pakistan's provinces on Monday to prepare for national and provincial elections on Jan 8.
'The Punjab government is also going to offer Imran official transport to return to Lahore,' the official said.
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