Islamabad -- The United States has been asked by Pakistan to release and repatriate the 58 Pakistani nationalss that have been held along with other suspected al-Qaeda members in Guantanamo Bay prison.

The request came after a recent investigation in the detention center at the navel base in Cuba by a team of Pakistani intelligence. Each of the Pakistani prisoners were interrogated, after which the investigators concluded that none of them had any links with the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The Pakistani team has now returned to the country, and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that team members had carried out thorough background checks on each of the men, and believed none of the Pakistani detainees had any links with al-Qaeda or any other terrorist group.

The spokesman said there was a strong possibility that most of these prisoners would soon be sent back to Pakistan but added that American officials had indicated that a few of the detained Pakistanis might be held back for further questioning.