Four men have been cleared by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court of involvement in the 2010 Times Square bomb plot, according to a lawyer and relatives of the men.

The men were arrested in the wake of the May 2010 incident during which Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad drove an SUV packed with a bomb into New York’s Times Square. The bomb produced smoke but no explosion.

Lawyer Malik Imran Safdar said yesterday that the prosecution failed to prove its case against his clients. The men were released after the court in Rawalpindi, near the capital of Islamabad, acquitted them.

The father of one of the men, Humbal Akhtar, said he was ecstatic at his son’s release.

“I have suffered a lot during these two tough years,” said Muhammed Akhtar. “Finally I got justice.”

In addition to Mr Akhtar, the court released Muhammad Shoaib Mughal, Muhammad Shahid Husain, and Faisal Abbasi. The men were picked up by Pakistani security officials in the wake of the 2010 incident, and few details of their case have emerged over the two years of their detention.

They were tried by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court, which are generally off limits to the press or other outsiders.

Terrorism cases in Pakistan rarely result in convictions or prison sentences. Police often lack basic investigative skills, prosecutors lack training in terror cases and judges and witnesses are often subject to intimidation.

Pakistani security officials have also been accused by human rights groups of holding suspects for months, even years without filing charges or divulging any information about their cases.

Two other men arrested by Pakistan in the wake of the Times Square incident were previously released.

The US has long pressed Pakistan to crack down on militants within its borders, both militarily and through the courts.

Meanwhile, the US pushed on with its drone campaign against the militants despite repeated Pakistani protests.