US Vice-President thanked Shahid Khaqan for freeing US citizen
19 October, 2017
ISLAMABAD: The US on Wednesday reaffirmed the importance of relations with Pakistan and said it would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region
US Vice-President Mike Pence telephoned Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and thanked the government of Pakistan and praised the professionalism of Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies for swift response and safe recovery of US national Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children.
Last week, Pakistan’s security forces, with the support of US intelligence, had freed the American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children from terrorists’ captivity. The foreigners were recovered from Nawe Kali, a remote area about 15 kilometres southwest of Kohat, following a joint operation by security forces and the intelligence agencies, officials had said. The recovery of hostages was hailed by President Donald Trump as a ‘positive moment’ in relations between Islamabad and Washington.
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 US.
The two leaders agreed to maintain high-level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Vice-President Pence also accepted an invitation by Prime Minister Abbasi to visit Pakistan in near future.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also called to convey US government’s gratitude for the safe recovery of the hostages.
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