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WASHINGTON: The CIA head said on Thursday that the US-Canadian couple kidnapped by the militants in Afghanistan were held inside Pakistan for five years before being freed last week.
“We had a great outcome last week when we were able to get back four US citizens who had been held for five years inside of Pakistan,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank in Washington.
Mr Pompeo’s remarks appeared to be the first time a US official has publicly stated that the family spent their captivity in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s military and government indicated that US citizen Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their children were rescued shortly after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believed the hostages were probably held by the Haqqani militant group in or near its headquarters in northwestern Pakistan the entire time.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2017
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Comments (102) Closed
Oct 20, 2017 08:09am
US Govt. is bent on discrediting Pakistan on every front.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:14am
Let the truth come out.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:14am
Another blot
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Oct 20, 2017 08:19am
Pakistan was well aware that the family in their country all along. only under pressure they played drama of rescuing the family to gain goodwill from US.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:32am
@Hafeez, Canada. Think you guys dont need any outside help, you manage discreditation quite well on your own. BTW why in canada?..should move back if you dislike the west so much.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:36am
When first news of the crossing over of kidnappers and captives from Afghanistan to Pakistan appeared, I called it fake. Captives have been in Pakistan for years.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:39am
Yet another attempt to discredit Pakistan for its counter-terrorism efforts. It's a shame that the US wants to deliberately keep relations between the two countries on the boil. Josh Boyle himself said that they were held captives in Afghanistan for 5 years.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:39am
@s.r.reddy How do you know that?
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Oct 20, 2017 08:41am
Truth prevails at last.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:42am
US should have asked India to keep an eye on abductors!
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Oct 20, 2017 08:46am
@Maverik Pakistan's army has a very predictable character and they r playing according to the situation
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Oct 20, 2017 08:47am
@Maverik .. It is so evident
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Oct 20, 2017 08:53am
Boyle named the "commander" who is responsible for the attack of his wife. So investigate it. He also said there was an investigation and written report. Where is that?
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Oct 20, 2017 08:54am
@Raunak How is it so evident?
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Oct 20, 2017 08:55am
Unlike pakistan, US will not speak without proof.
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Oct 20, 2017 08:57am
It was a diplomatic handover.
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Oct 20, 2017 09:05am
Did the US tell Pakistan earlier about the family held here or when it was moved from Afghanistan to here. The family was certainly kidnapped in Afghan territory.
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Oct 20, 2017 09:06am
He forgotten to mention thats help by by Pak Army and keen on making a case against Pakistan to help them negotiate the deal...
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Oct 20, 2017 09:22am
@Munir Zia
LOL. That is a good one!
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Oct 20, 2017 09:27am
@Ravi
You mean like US spoke about the presence of WMDs in Iraq?
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Oct 20, 2017 09:29am
Why don't the US generals let the family speak, where they spent the last five years ? The only press briefing they they did as yet, they praised the Pakistani officials for rescuing them. And what was the previous comments by the American intelligence, that they informed the Pakistani counterparts, when the family was shifted to Pakistan. After listening to the comments and realizing, that Pakistan intelligence did in one day, what they could not achieve in five years, now they want to change the story. Let the rescued family speak it self, without any pressure.
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Oct 20, 2017 09:32am
@Ravi Then why did it say previously, that they had been tracking the family in Afghanistan for the last five years ? And just a day before the rescue, the family was relocated to Pakistan ? Was that a proof of a different kind ?
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Oct 20, 2017 09:47am
If the US knew this all along why didn't they come to their rescue or even spoke about it? why are they coming out of closet right after the family is released ?
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Oct 20, 2017 10:27am
What a claim ! Is this the way to "improve "relations with Pakistan ? Assuming the claim to be correct , why was the US silent all these years ? It shows the expected visit of Rex Tillerson is only designed to exert pressure to and make more unfair demands ,like "do more ". Dear countrymen stay focused and pursue our own National goals.Expect no change of heart by the US.
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Oct 20, 2017 10:44am
common - why is it always Pakistan? Americans are desperate these days to blame Pakistan for anything? Why you just admit it that you've lost everything regarding Afghanistan?
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Oct 20, 2017 11:04am
This isn't the US discrediting Pakistan. They very clearly have expressed gratitude, and remarked that it is a positive moment and agreed to further improve relations. That these people were in tribal areas doesn't detract from this.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:06am
US face saving!!
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Oct 20, 2017 11:11am
Wow! This is not a surprise. Same old games inflicting harm on innocents living on Afghan-Pak region.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:13am
@Cricket-One Americans never said that they were tracking the hostages in Afghanistan. It was the spin given by ISPR to save face.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:18am
So another lies from the powers in Pakistan
What’s new ?
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Oct 20, 2017 11:22am
@Maverik Becoz he knows history - and the lies ur military has said all along..
Hence he knows
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Oct 20, 2017 11:23am
@Dadeeji - it will remain hidden for about 25 years
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Oct 20, 2017 11:23am
So will anyone in ur media now demand action against ur military spokesman for giving lies to the whole nation and causing another embarrassment to ur country in a whole history of national embarrassments?
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Oct 20, 2017 11:24am
@Hafeez, Canada - and hide its own failures in war in Afghanistan. Media plays a big part in this campaign.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:26am
Because they don't want to accept their failure in Afghanistan ...
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Oct 20, 2017 11:32am
DNA test of their children will help you in tracing detention location of this family and origin of rapping blood.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:36am
US, the most ungrateful and unreliable country. I am very glad they are showing their true colours.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:37am
How they entered in Pakistan from Afghanistan which is under US military. And in your presence in Afghanistan How they were abducted
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Oct 20, 2017 11:41am
Who does not knew ???
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Oct 20, 2017 11:46am
Cheap tactic to ask Pakistan to do more.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:48am
How embarrassing it is to see facts prevail over false allegation covering up things.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:52am
Make the policy of the state clean, which will ultimately benefit Pakistan. The policy of deceit and lie can not hoodwink all and sundry all the time. Better come clean and call a spade a spade.
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Oct 20, 2017 11:56am
@NoFame No. It is not only Pakistan. Another country, North Korea, not a worthy company, keeps competing with Pakistan.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:01pm
Truth aught to prevail.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:05pm
@Baba Bandook Well!! You replace 'US' with "Pakistan" and every thing will be alright.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:11pm
It confirms US did not buy stance from Pakistan.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:11pm
It confirms US did not buy stance from Pakistan.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:14pm
@Eye opener
Sad to see your state of mind and have you ever think of their future by raising your point without proof.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:18pm
After earlier statement of gratitude came the NYT story regarding use of Seals in case Pakistan did not act.Then came lectures by Nikki Haley and Tillerson decisively siding with India and asking Pakistan for greater and meaningful cooperation. And now US top spy has emphatically stated that the rescued family had spent all the time in Pakistan.Since Americans are now disgracing us we might take some time out of our internal squabbles to give a befitting reply.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:21pm
Entire world except Pakistan and China know this. We believe what we would like to believe
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Oct 20, 2017 12:34pm
The hostages say they were in Afghanistan. You want to believe the hostages or some guy whose last name is Pompeo.
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Oct 20, 2017 12:36pm
Looks like our military exacts knew the whereabouts of hostages all these time ..Americans wont comment without any proof...
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Oct 20, 2017 12:52pm
Truth comes out someday or other
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Oct 20, 2017 01:02pm
@Munir Zia : US should have asked India to keep an eye on abductors!
who knows ! it must all be due to India already keeping an eye on the abductors
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Oct 20, 2017 01:06pm
@Syed Ahmed Yes i agree with you - the abductors were kind enough to let the hostages use their cell phones with Google Maps and location pins which told them they were in Afghanistan not Pakistan
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Oct 20, 2017 01:07pm
I would like to ask the couple about Pompeo's statement.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:10pm
The sharpshooters shot the tire flat, but they could not shoot the captors who escaped by foot!! Doesn't something smell fishy?
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Oct 20, 2017 01:12pm
The tail can never be straightened. Genes, brother, blame the genes.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:12pm
This is a contradiction of USA own statement that the family was only recently transferred from Afghanistan to Pakistan. This new statement is bothering but a pack of lies by the Trump administration.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:16pm
Seemingly , it is an attempt to add credibility to Trump's accusations against Pakistan.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:16pm
You cannot fool everybody, everytime!
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Oct 20, 2017 01:22pm
I have only one question, why were they moved to Pakistan?
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Oct 20, 2017 01:23pm
A slap on the face for the false statement issued by ISPR.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:27pm
@citizen Looks like this, all the time, for last few weeks USA offered a way out and an opportunity to control the downward spiralling relations and molly coddle an old and 'reliable' Ally.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:30pm
pakistan had no clue where they were held captive so how can they say that they were moved here shortly. same thing happened with Osama Bin Laden. he was living right under their noses.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:32pm
Super strategy by US. US is praising Pakistan at the same time condemning Pakistan. US is using both sticks and carrots in dealing with Pakistan. One person praises Pakistan and other condemns Pakistan. US is acknowledging Pakistan effort to bring back the Canadian couple who were hostages and at the same time exposing to the world that Pakistan is giving safe haven to terrorists and refuting the Pakistan government and armies claim that hostages were rescued when entering Pakistan.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:33pm
@Feroz Than why did you not advise the authorities in Pakistan or US government where they are held?
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Oct 20, 2017 01:40pm
@Kamal
Dear Sir, All Pakistanis will leave western countries and gulf countries once the CPEC is completed. Once CPEC is completed there would be immigrants to Pakistan from all these countries. Meantime, western countries and gulf countries should thank the Pakistanis for their labour. if Pakistanis leave western countries, who will drive taxis, buses, trucks, who will help in restaurant kitchens, who will clean cities. Pakistan is waiting to inflict revenge on those when the time comes and it would come sooner than later.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:42pm
Pakistan got exposed again.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:46pm
@Kamal why you jealous
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Oct 20, 2017 01:48pm
Plausible.
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Oct 20, 2017 02:01pm
US would never accept its own mistakes
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Oct 20, 2017 02:08pm
@wasif : Cheap tactic to ask Pakistan to do more.
For which they never were done & took dollars.
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Oct 20, 2017 02:15pm
@Maverik timeline of all this looked way more convenient in order to appease the US govt
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Oct 20, 2017 02:25pm
@m mirza - "pakistan had no clue where they were held captive"
Innocent Pakistan dint even know where Osama was hiding.
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Oct 20, 2017 02:37pm
First USA tried to discredit Pakistan by saying that Bin Laden was captured in Pakistan, and now more American lies by saying that this family was rescued from Pakistan. Pakistan army never lies to its people.
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Oct 20, 2017 02:42pm
That's correct. They were held in Pakistan for 5 years. This game has to be exposed.
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Oct 20, 2017 02:53pm
@Hafeez, Canada Is there any credit left, what's said and what's done is totally different.There is a saying worth remembering "You can fool some people sometimes but not all the people all the time".
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Oct 20, 2017 02:56pm
Nothing in this entire story actually makes sense. The list of questions is just way too long!
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Oct 20, 2017 03:04pm
Their President thanked Pakistan so much for the rescue and now we read this. Why so.
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Oct 20, 2017 03:16pm
USA has to dig out something against Pakistan when Joshua Boyle decided to go Canada instead of USA
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Oct 20, 2017 03:43pm
@Ali Khan US played along what Pak Army was saying, so that hostages are not harmed.....Once they are safe, they are spilling the beans
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Oct 20, 2017 03:45pm
@Maverik It is just called common sense my dear !
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Oct 20, 2017 03:47pm
Remember they were kidnapped in Afghanistan and never in Pakistan - to all those who are ignoring the fact.
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Oct 20, 2017 03:49pm
@Ravi your belief in US is astounding. Remember bush lies about WMD in Iraq?
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Oct 20, 2017 03:53pm
discredit us on ev gud plzz.. keep it up
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Oct 20, 2017 04:05pm
If Khurasani can live in Afghanistan for 6 years why can't this couple be kept hostage in Afghanistan? How much territory US and Afghanistan govt control ? Only 50%
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Oct 20, 2017 04:05pm
@Syed Ahmed LOL ........ a hostage has a GPS to determine where he is being held ............ ignorance is bliss
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Oct 20, 2017 04:14pm
Well Coleman and Boyle should call a press conference and tell exactly where they were heid all these years .
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Oct 20, 2017 11:23pm
@Monsieur but they themselves said this. How about you listen to their interview? They already were working deep near Talibans areas where no NGO was willing to go. So obviously they will know whether they were being moved or how long have they been moved. You can at least judge that much. If they are going to be carried to Pakistan then they much have been moved for a long time in a vehicle.
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Oct 21, 2017 12:07pm
True
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Oct 21, 2017 03:14pm
Only God and ISPR to be trusted as credible source of news. Rests are fakers!
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Oct 21, 2017 06:26pm
Pakistan made one terrible mistake and that mistake was supporting America during Cold War.
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Oct 21, 2017 08:32pm
@Eye Opener - Really?!!
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Oct 21, 2017 08:36pm
Very bad actors. It smelt the rat when it hit the headlines.
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Oct 21, 2017 09:03pm
Abbottabad returns!
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Oct 22, 2017 12:03am
Denial is a national art here.
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Oct 22, 2017 01:50am
Deceit of the extreme; first I was Osama; the biggest enemy of America for so many years; now
this latest for five years. There could well be so many other such cases; not so far detected. USA
has got to be plum nuts to still relay.
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Oct 22, 2017 03:07am
@Maverik
No he didn’t. That’s another lie.
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Oct 22, 2017 07:10am
@Feroz How come you didn't release them if you knew this already?
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Oct 22, 2017 07:26am
@BitterTruth That's why you should accept it as soon as possible. Pakistan Zindabad!
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Oct 22, 2017 12:03pm
Were any militants killed during the recovery operation?
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