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American Woman and Family Freed After Years Held Captive by Taliban
An American woman and her family have been released after five years being held hostage by Afghan Taliban, the U.S. Department of State confirmed in a statement Thursday.
“The United States government, working in conjunction with the Government of Pakistan, has secured the release of the Boyle-Coleman family from captivity in Pakistan,” the statement said.
Caitlan Coleman, 32, her Canadian Husband and their three young children had been held captive since 2012, by Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.
“In 2012, U.S. citizen Caitlan Coleman and Canadian citizen Joshua Boyle were taken hostage by the Haqqani network. Their three children were subsequently born in captivity. Today they are safe and secure,” the statement said.
The family were freed during an operation involving Pakistani forces. The operation was undertaken by Pakistani forces based on actionable intelligence provided by U.S. authorities, according to a statement by the ISPR as cited by Fox News.
U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking the hostages and shared the location with Pakistani counterparts when the hostages shifted into Pakistani territory Wednesday.
President Donald Trump appeared to hint at the news of Coleman’s release during a speech in Coleman’s home state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
“Something happened today, where a country that totally disrespected us called with some very, very important news,” Trump said. “And one of my generals came in. They said, ‘You know, I have to tell you, a year ago they would’ve never done that.’ It was a great sign of respect. You’ll probably be hearing about it over the next few days. But this is a country that did not respect us. This is a country that respects us now. The world is starting to respect us again, believe me.”
Coleman and Boyle were last seen in a hostage video in December 2016 pleading for their governments to intervene.
Coleman’s parents, Jim and Lyn Coleman, last heard from their son-in-law on Oct. 8, 2012, from an internet cafe in what Josh described as an “unsafe” part of Afghanistan, Fox News reported.
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More needs to be done to boost local industry, says Kabir
The deputy prime minister for policy, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, met with Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, at Sapidar Palace on Tuesday and discussed issues around the quality of domestic products and the need to grow and develop the industrial sector.
Azizi said that good trade relations with neighboring countries has resulted in stable prices of goods in the country.
He said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry works closely with the private sector. As a result, the private sector functions in a befitting manner and the Islamic Emirate has provided necessary facilities.
Azizi said that based on the Islamic Emirate’s good economic policies, there has been a significant development in the import/export sector in the country.
Kabir in turn voiced appreciation for efforts by the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and said: “The unprecedented efforts of the IEA’s administrations and the stability of the Afghan currency caused the price of food ingredients to remain in the right state and our people also be able to buy essential materials.”
He emphasized the need to work for a balance in trade with neighboring countries, and said more efforts were needed to improve the quality of domestic products and to grow the sector.
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Russia and Tajikistan hold joint military drills along Afghanistan border
Russia and Tajikistan conducted a joint four-day military exercise along the border with Afghanistan in order to be prepared for any “potential threats”, Tajik media reported this week.
Russian military personnel from the 201st military base in Tajikistan participated in this exercise. Reports stated military personnel practiced various combat tactics, especially tactics to counter terrorist groups that illegally enter Tajikistan.
This comes amid repeated concerns expressed by Afghanistan’s neighbors about what they claim are terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on the drills but has repeatedly denied the presence of terrorist groups in the country. The IEA has also continuously said no militant group will be allowed to threaten another country from Afghanistan.
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Media Violation Commission bans two TV channels
The Media Violations Commission has ordered Noor and Barya TV channels to stop broadcasting and to appear in court, state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported on Tuesday.
ّIt is said that the decision against the channels was taken for “not observing the principles of journalism.”
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