'Imran Khan to be freed within hours'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities will release hunger-striking cricket legend Imran Khan from jail within hours, senior government officials said on Wednesday.   

"All political prisoners in Punjab province, including Imran Khan, are being released in Punjab in the next few hours," a top provincial government official told.   

A senior federal government official confirmed the decision to release Khan.   

Khan was detained last week while trying to lead a student protest in Lahore against a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf.

He began a hunger strike on Monday.   

Officials said Khan would be among more than 250 prisoners being released in Punjab, the most populous of Pakistan's four provinces and the country's political heartland.   

"This is a goodwill gesture from the interim government because it wants to give a level playing field to all political parties before the election campaign gets underway," the provincial official said.   

Caretaker governments took power in Pakistan's provinces on Monday to prepare for national and provincial elections on January 8.   

"The Punjab government is also going to offer Imran official transport to return to Lahore" from the jail where he is being held in the remote town of Dera Ghazi Khan, the official said.