a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
a joint Afghan-US raid on Tuesday in Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province led to Pakistain’s most high-profile kidnap victim, Ali Gilani, being rescued after three years in captivity.
The son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ...
had been kidnapped by gunnies from an election rally in Multan on May 9, 2013, in an attack that killed his secretary and bodyguard.
According to US officials, the commando raid on Tuesday targeted an Al Qaeda compound in response to intelligence about terrorist activity in the area.
It seems that seven officials of the Fata Development Authority, who had recently been kidnapped from South
Wazoo, were also recovered in the same operation. Indications are that the captives were being held by an Al Qaeda-affiliated group, possibly the Pak Taliban.As in the case of Shahbaz Taseer, who was recovered two months ago from Kuchlak in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
after four and a half years of being kidnapped, Ali Gilani’s safe return to his family has sparked much jubilation in the country.
As in the earlier instance, details about his captivity or rescue may never come to light. For instance, it is still unclear whether the US-Afghan forces had any idea they were on a rescue mission or whether they stumbled upon the captives in a stroke of good fortune; or for that matter, whether intelligence originating from Pakistain played any role at all in the operation.
Regardless of the fine print, the happy outcome has generated a fair amount of goodwill all around and could offer an opportunity to improve bilateral ties and cooperation between the countries’ security forces.