Afghanistan begin releasing ‘dangerous’ inmates

The reports stated that all of the prisoners - most hailing from the country's east or south - would be released on Thursday and transported by bus to Kabul.

"They will be released today if there's not a change of plan," Abdul Shukor Dadras, a member of the Afghan government body reviewing detainees, said.

"Their cases were reviewed and we have no reason to keep them in jail."

US forces in Afghanistan have condemned the Afghan government's decision to move forward with the detainee release, calling the prisoners a security threat.

"The release of these detainees is a major step backward for the rule of law in Afghanistan," the US military said in a statement earlier this week, reported by the Reuters news agency.

"Some previously-released individuals have already returned to the fight, and this subsequent release will allow dangerous insurgents back into Afghan cities and villages."

The 65 prisoners scheduled for release are part of a group of 88 detainees under dispute. A total of 650 Bagram prisoners have been marked for release on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them, but Washington objected to the release of 88, citing biometric evidence that implicates some in the creation of improvised explosive devices.

The dispute has fuelled tensions between Afghanistan and the United States as US troops, who have been in Afghanistan since 2001, steadily withdraw.

President Barack Obama's administration has been pressing Karzai to sign a bilateral security pact that would allow some US forces to remain in Afghanistan beyond a deadline at the end of this year.

Bagram was the main detention centre housing Taliban and other fighters captured by Western military forces until it was transferred to Afghan control last year.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called Bagram a "Taliban-producing factory," alleging some detainees were tortured into hating their country.