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Ex-minister Mushahid Hussain released in Pakistan

Our Correspondent in Karachi

The former information minister of Pakistan, Mushahid Hussain, who was one of the key members of the Pakistan Muslim League, was on Monday released after spending more than 14 months in custody.

"I am very happy to be with my family after all this time," a clearly relieved Hussain told reporters in Islamabad. "All this happens in the name of politics, but it was unjust that I was held without charges." He also refused to comment on the events leading to his release.

Hussain had been placed under protective custody on October 12 last year, after the military took charge, dismissing the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharief.

Hussain was kept under house arrest throughout his detention and was not formally charged with any crime or with corruption. The journalist-turned-minister played a key role in promoting Sharief's policies, and had been elected senator prior to his cabinet appointment.

Hussain's release comes just two weeks after Sharief and his family were sent into exile in Saudi Arabia by the military government.

A number of PML leaders remain in detention, including Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former petroleum minister and a key Sharief supporter, who has also not been formally charged with any crimes or corruption.

Sharief's accountability czar, Saifur Rehman, also remains in prison, pending a state appeal against his acquittal in the plane conspiracy case. Sharief was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in that case, while all other co-defendants, including Sharief's brother Shahbaz, were acquitted.

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