Pakistan hails Guantanamo closure

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan Saturday welcomed the closure of Guantanamo Bay by US President Barack Obama as "an important step towards upholding the primacy of the rule of law."

A foreign ministry statement said Islamabad hoped the new US administration would develop a holistic strategy to deal with the global problem of terrorism.

"Closing Guantanamo Bay detention centre signals an important step towards upholding the primacy of the rule of law and adds the much-needed moral dimension in dealing with terrorism," the statement said.

Following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban from power, the US military detained hundreds of men at Guantanamo for their alleged links to Islamist extremists.

According to the interior ministry, a total of 68 Pakistanis have been held at the US naval base, of whom 63 have been released. Five are still in detention.

On Thursday, Obama ordered the closure of the "war on terror" prison camp located in southeastern Cuba within a year.