DHAKA: Myanmar on Tuesday pledged to release thousands of prisoners a month before a Southeast Asian summit, which US president Barack Obama and other leaders from outside the region are expected to attend.

Myanmar president Thein Sein pardoned 3,073 prisoners for the sake of ‘peace and stability’ and ‘the rule of law’, the government said on the Information Ministry website, reports The Straits Times.

The amnesty is one of at least a dozen announced by the reformist, quasi-civilian government since taking over in March 2011 from a military leadership.

BDST: 1458 HRS, OCT 07, 2014