Top pro-Taliban militant leader released on bail

The AssociatedPress

LAHORE, Pakistan -- The pro-Taliban leader of a top radical Islamic party was freed from jail Thursday after four months.

After his release on the order of a Lahore court, Qazi Hussain Ahmad spoke with supporters and charged that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had given away Pakistan's military bases to the United States.

Ahmad, leader of the influential Jamaat-e-Islami religious party, told followers he would keep working for the supremacy of Islam in Pakistan.

Ahmad had organized violent protest rallies after Pakistan's military-led government decided to support the U.S.-led coalition against Osama bin Laden and his Taliban allies.

He was detained initially to prevent him from leading more protests. His detention was extended when authorities dredged up older accusations that he had organized protests in February 1999 during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee.