WASHINGTON, Pakistan will help as a \u201cmoral and humanitarian responsibility\u201d in the ongoing efforts to recover a Taliban-held American hostage, Mark Frerichs, a Pakistani embassy spokesperson has said, responding to a media report that expressed fears that United States\u2019 hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan has dimmed hope for his release.<\/p>\n
ABC News said that the location of Frerichs, a 58-year-old civil engineer, who was kidnapped in January 2020 from Kabul, is unknown.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan has always regarded any assistance it can provide in helping the United States and other foreign countries with the recovery of their hostages from Afghanistan as a moral and humanitarian responsibility,\u201d Spokesperson Maliha Shahid said in a statement to ABC News.<\/p>\n
ABC News, citing experts, said the U.S. will lose most of whatever leverage it might have to free the hostage through one of the limited number of tracks the government has already contemplated or acted upon during his 17 months of Frerichs\u2019 captivity after American military and special operations personnel leave Afghanistan expected to be by July Fourth.<\/p>\n
The report said the options that have been considered for freeing Frerichs include trying to arrange a controversial prisoner exchange involving an Afghan druglord, ask Pakistan to influence the Haqqani network, or staging a high-risk rescue operation if the hostage can be located.<\/p>\n
But ABC News said the hostage-rescue option was seen as even less likely than the prisoner exchange.<\/p>\n
In her response to ABC News report, Spokesperson Maliha Shahid, who is a press attache at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, said that Pakistan had always extended its assistance in recovering hostages \u201cin good faith, and not driven by \u2018incentives\u2019 or \u2018pressure.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Shahid also said that Pakistan has \u201cno evidence to suggest that Mark Frerichs is being held in Pakistan\u201d and that Pakistan \u201cremains committed to play any role it can\u201d to reunite Frerichs with his family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, Pakistan will help as a \u201cmoral and humanitarian responsibility\u201d in the ongoing efforts to recover a Taliban-held American hostage, Mark Frerichs, a Pakistani embassy spokesperson has said, responding to a media report that expressed fears that United States\u2019 hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan has dimmed […]<\/p>\n
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