US vice president calls PM, thanks government for safe recovery of hostages
October 18, 2017
ISLAMABAD: The US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday telephoned Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to thank him for the safe recovery of the US national Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle, and their three children.
Pence thanked the government of Pakistan and praised the professionalism of the army and intelligence agencies for the swift response and safe recovery of the US-Canadian family.
The US VP reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and said that the US would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region.
Re-affirming Pakistan’s resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil, the prime minister assured the US vice president that Pakistan would respond to any actionable intelligence shared by the US side.
The two leaders agreed to maintain high-level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Vice President Pence also accepted Abbasi's invitation to visit Pakistan in the near future.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also called to convey US government’s gratitude for the safe recovery of the hostages.
The Pakistan Army, on October 12, recovered the five foreign hostages who were kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2012.
The operation by Pakistani forces, based on actionable intelligence by US authorities, led to the successful recovery of the hostages.
US intelligence services had been tracking the movement of the hostages and informed Pakistani law enforcement agencies when the hostages were moved across the Pak-Afghan border into Kurram agency on October 11, 2017.
