Pakistan released Imran Khan today days after the cricket legend turned politician was detained during a round-up of thousands of opponents of President Pervez Musharraf.
Mr Khan was arrested last week at a student rally against Gen Musharraf's suspension of the Pakistani constitution.
Imran Khan
"Our party workers in DG Khan [the eastern city, Dera Ghazi Khan) told me that he has come out of jail," Mr Khan's spokesman Hafeezullah Khan Niazi said.
The interior ministry yesterday claimed that 3,400 political detainees arrested during emergency rule imposed last month had been released while another 2,000 would remain n jail or under house arrest.
But the main opposition, the Pakistan People's Party, disputed the figures and said over 150 protesting journalists had been arrested since Gen Musharraf announced the easing of emergency rule.
Gen Musharraf meanwhile said he made no attempt to contact the man he deposed in a 1999 coup during his visit to Saudi Arabia today.
Gen Musharraf has sought to marginalise Nawaz Sharif, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia but remains an key opposition figure.
Gen Musharraf allowed Benazir Bhutto, the other major opposition leader, to return to Pakistan in October and shielding her from prosecution in outstanding corruption cases, hoping she would lend him support as his popularity ratings fell.
Speaking from the Saudi port city of Jeddah, Mr Sharif said Gen Musharraf's go-betweens had made several attempts to arrange a meeting in recent months, and had been in contact a few days ago but there was no contact today.
Gen Musharraf spent less than 24 hours in the kingdom, meeting King Abdullah and other Saudi officials including intelligence chief Murqin bin Abdul-Aziz.
The visit, announced at short notice, set off a whirlwind of speculation that Gen Musharraf intended either to reach out to Sharif, or request the Saudi authorities to prolong his exile.
Mr Sharif has he wants to return to Pakistan and the Saudis are embarrassed by their complicity in his exile and would like the situation resolved.
After ousting Mr Sharif from power, Gen Musharraf co-opted what was left of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League to create his own political support base.
Mr Sharif's return could test the loyalty of PML politicians, and split the vote in a parliamentary election set for January 8th.
The former prime minister has said he could not countenance a meeting with Musharraf until the emergency was revoked, detainees were released and sacked Supreme Court judges reinstated.
The last point is probably a deal-breaker. One of the main reasons Musharraf assumed emergency powers was to purge the Supreme Court of judges he thought were about to annul his October 6th re-election by parliament.
Agencies