The missing six crew members of a Pakistani helicopter that crash-landed in Afghanistan last week were recovered and returned to Islamabad on Saturday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced.
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The State Department past year designated Khan a global terrorist, saying he is the leader of the Islamic State in Khorasan, which includes former members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban.
“Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew”, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement, as reported by the news agency thereafter.
The Russian-made transport helicopter belonging to the Punjab provincial government was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance on August 4, when it suffered a technical failure and crash-landed in the Taliban-held Logar province in eastern Afghanistan earlier this month.
The Foreign Office said earlier this week that the Afghan government was trying to secure their release with the help of tribal elders of the area.
“They are being looked after, being provided tea, food, everything”, he said.
“President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard”, he posted on Twitter.
The MI-17 transport helicopter was on its way to Russian Federation for maintenance when it crash landed on August 4 in a Taliban controlled area of Logar province. The operation in neighbouring tribal regions of Pakistan pushed several Taliban and allied fighters into Afghanistan.
Analysts said it was not clear how the Pakistan Government secured the crew’s safe release.
“Our government is tight lipped while the army also did not say anything about the role of the Afghan government”, security analyst Hasan Askari told Agence France Presse.
The Afghan officials and the militants have neither confirmed the release nor have they commented on the negotiations that set them free. A Pakistani Taliban faction also claimed responsibility.
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The Mi-17 transport helicopter made crash-landing in the mountainous Azra district of Logar province apparently due to technical problems.
