Pakistan is set to release Taliban's second in command Abdul Ghani Baradar this week.
Sartaj Aziz, main advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, said that Baradar will be released this week, possibly in a day or two.
The Afghan government has long demanded that Pakistan releases Baradar, whose arrest in January 2010 led to Islamabad being accused of sabotaging initiatives to bring peace in war-torn Afghanistan, the Express Tribune reports.
His release would bring to 34 the number of Taliban detainees that Pakistan has released since last year.
However Aziz, a senior diplomat, said Baradar would not be handed over to Kabul, as handing him over to them would affect the reconciliation process with the Taliban.
He said that it is Baradar's discretion, whether he chooses to live in Pakistan or anywhere of his own choice.
