I don’t believe Pakistan was motivated by moral interest in releasing U.S. hostage Caitlan Coleman and her family, and I’m skeptical of Pakistan’s account of the rescue.
These hostages were released Thursday after five years in the Haqqani network’s captivity. An ally of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, and a committed adversary of the United States, the Haqqani network is half-mafia, half-terrorist. Crucially relevant, however, the Haqqanis are also supported and influenced by powerful elements of the Pakistani establishment. Most notably, Pakistan’s ISI intelligence service.
But if the Haqqanis and key Pakistani government officials are close, as they are, why did they release these hostages without a reciprocal U.S. prisoner exchange?
According to the Toronto Star, Coleman’s husband, Joshua Boyle “told his parents that he was in the trunk of the kidnappers’ car with his wife and children when Pakistani forces rescued them. He said his kidnappers were killed in a shootout that left him with minor shrapnel wounds. The last words Boyle said he heard from the kidnappers were, ‘kill the hostages.'”
Similarly, the Pakistani army claims that it received U.S. intelligence on the hostages’ whereabouts, surrounded the kidnappers vehicle, and then heroically rescued the family. On paper, the shootout suggests this rescue wasn’t the result of a deal between Pakistani officials and the Haqqani network.
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Pakistan's story about rescuing U.S. hostage Caitlan Coleman doesn't quite add up https://t.co/wH7UOcdtcW by @TomRtweets pic.twitter.com/feFfjCuZn5
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 12, 2017
Maybe Trump paid a ransom.
The whole story sounds off.
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