By DPA
Islamabad : Two US peace activists, detained for protesting the house arrest of an outspoken critic of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Lahore two days ago, have been released, officials said here Wednesday.
Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry, members of the US human rights group Global Exchange and peace group CODEPINK, were arrested by policemen Monday from a vehicle in which they were travelling.
They were taken to a local police station, but released late Monday night, said Elizabeth Colton, spokeswoman for the US embassy in Islamabad. An officer from the US consulate in Lahore then drove the pair, a man and a woman, back to their hotel.
The activists had been holding a vigil since last weekend near the home of Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who was arrested in a government crackdown on the opposition after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Nov 3.
While most of the thousands of people arrested have since been released, high-profile critics such as Ahsan remain under arrest. Anne W. Patterson, the US ambassador to Pakistan, tried to meet Ahsan Monday but was refused permission by police, who only allowed her to meet his wife.
Nadeem Anthony, spokesman for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said some of the group’s members had been with Benjamin and Barry when they were stopped by police but were pushed out of the way.
“Police said they were being taken into custody for their protection,” Anthony said, adding that the pair was expected to fly out of Pakistan Tuesday night.