US-Canadian couple held for five years in Pakistan, says CIA chief

New York - The couple were kidnapped in 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan

The head of the CIA said on Thursday that a US Canadian couple kidnapped by militants in Afghanistan were held inside neighbouring Pakistan for five years before being freed.
"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 Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington.
Pompeo's remarks appeared to be the first time a US official has publicly stated that the couple and their children spent their captivity in Pakistan, contrary to accounts from Pakistani officials.
Pakistan's military and government have indicated US citizen Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their children were rescued shortly after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan. The couple were kidnapped in 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan and their children were born in captivity.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have previously said there was no indication the hostages had been in Afghanistan in the days before they were freed.
The officials said the United States believed the hostages were probably held by the Haqqani militant group in or near its headquarters in northwestern Pakistan the entire time.
Regarded as the most fearsome and effective Taleban ally, the Haqqani network gets support from elements of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's powerful military-run intelligence agency, US officials say. Pakistan denies it.
A senior Pakistani security source said last Friday that Pakistani troops and intelligence agents, acting on a US intelligence tip, zeroed in on a vehicle carrying the family as they were being moved into the Kurram tribal region near the town of Kohat, some 60 km (37 miles) inside Pakistan.
After the release of the family, Pakistani officials emphasised the importance of co-operation and intelligence sharing by Washington, which has threatened to cut military aid and take other punitive measures against Pakistan.
However, two Taleban sources with knowledge of the family's captivity said they had been kept in Pakistan in recent years.
 

• Pakistan