Trump Thanks Pakistan For Rescuing Hostages

Lately, Pakistan had been facing a lot of criticism for not ‘doing more’ about eliminating terrorism from Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump, already known the world over for his tendency to think before he speaks, also had some strong words for Pakistan’s civilian and military apparatus to get favorable results in war-ravaged Afghanistan. His advisers and military generals followed suit, imploring Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani network.

A lot of people and observers thought that US-Pakistani ties were at the brink of breaking down, with disastrous and ill-advised consequences for the region. Pakistani analysts feared the same given how the United States recently spoke out against CPEC, an economic lifeline of sorts for Pakistan.

All that changed yesterday, thanks to a daring hostage rescue of a western couple and their children who were missing for the past 5 years, ever since they got abducted by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2012.

American President @realDonaldTrump thanks #Pakistan for rescuing hostages held by #Taliban and hoped for further US-Pakistan Cooperation. pic.twitter.com/3bODEpmp6p

— Zain Khan (@ZKhanOfficial) October 12, 2017

The hostages included an American woman Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their three kids. They were recovered from Nawe Kali, which is situated some 15 kilometers away from Kohat town. The story of their rescue, as recounted by the hostages and the soldiers themselves, was nothing short of heroic.

A Scene from a Hollywood Blockbuster

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated yesterday that the hostages were recovered after receiving an intelligence tip from US authorities. Pakistani military was informed of their movement from Afghanistan to Kurram agency in Pakistan.

A team of specialists from Pakistan army were sent to recover them. According to the Canadian man, just as the soldiers entered the terrorist compound where they were held, he heard their captors say that the hostages need to be killed.

Before the terrorists could carry out their evil deed, they were all taken out by the Pakistani specialists. Sources say that one of the kidnappers is also in the custody of the local authorities following this operation.

Thankfully, apart from a minor injury to the Canadian national, no harm came to the other hostages. They were safely recovered.

“The success [of the operation] underscores the importance of timely intelligence sharing and Pakistan’s continued commitment towards fighting this menace [of terrorism] through cooperation between two forces against a common enemy,” the ISPR statement said.

Later on, the parents of the Canadian national publicly went on air and thanked the Pakistani authorities for uniting a family after a very traumatic ordeal.

Parents of freed Canadian hostage Joshua Boyle thank "courageous Pakistani soldiers" for his and his family's release via @shephardm pic.twitter.com/9hawOj0kJu

— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) October 12, 2017

As for US-Pakistani relations, this development has renewed hopes that the two ‘allies’ can figure out a way to solve their issues, much to the detriment of hostile neighbors in our vicinity.