Govt helped Weinstein's family deliver $250,000 to his captors: sources

People familiar with development say money was passed to group through Pakistani intermediary with links to the group


Web Desk April 26, 2015
PHOTO: AFP

The government was in contact with the family of US aid worker Warren Weinstein, who was kidnapped in Pakistan in 2011, and transferred money to the militant group holding him captive, people familiar with the negotiations revealed.


According to an article published by the Foreign Policy, the development has raised questions regarding the Pakistani government’s ability to release Warren Weinstein or capture his captives while relaying money to them.

Read: US aid worker kidnapped in Pakistan killed in CIA drone strike

Two people familiar with the exchange of money for Weinstein’s release said his family paid several hundred thousand dollars in 2012 to the militants to what became a multiyear, behind-the-scenes effort to ensure his safe return to the United States.

“The family was in touch with people who, they have reason to believe, had contact with, or control over, Warren until very recently,” one of the people said. “Because of that they believed he would come home.”

One of them said, the payment was “coordinated” with Islamabad.

Read: US aid worker – Investigators track down Weinstein kidnappers

The two added that the actual money was passed to the group holding Weinstein through a Pakistani intermediary with close links to the group.

According to the sources, the intermediary promised to deliver Weinstein after the money was received, but failed to do so.

However, hopeful he would return, Weinstein’s family maintained regular contact with the government and this captors.

The second person added the intermediary who transferred the initial sum of money to the group received information from Weinstein’s captors that he was alive until earlier this month.

Read: Al Qaeda claims kidnapping of Weinstein in Pakistan

American national Warren Weinstein who had been held hostage by al Qaeda in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan after being kidnapped from Lahore in 2011 was killed in a US counter-terrorism operation in January.

Giving details of the operation in which an Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto was also killed, Obama apologised for the mission.

Read: Obama takes blame: US, Italian hostages ‘inadvertently’ killed

“As president and as commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility for all our counter-terrorism operations, including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni,” he said.

“I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families.”

Read: Al Qaeda tells family to press US to negotiate hostage release

However, responding to the statement Weinstein’s widow, Elaine, thanked the FBI and three Maryland lawmakers for working for her husband’s release but stressed “the assistance we received from other elements of the US Government was inconsistent and disappointing over the course of three and a half years.”

Elaine’s statement also criticised Islamabad’s failure to help deliver her husband home even after the ransom was paid.

“I am disappointed in the government and military in Pakistan,” Elaine Weinstein wrote.

Read: Abducted by al Qaeda in Pakistan, Warren Weinstein urges Obama for help

“Warren’s safe return should have been a priority for them based on his contributions to their country, but they failed to take action earlier in his captivity when opportunity presented itself, instead treating Warren’s captivity as more of an annoyance than a priority. I hope the nature of our future relationship with Pakistan is reflective of how they prioritise situations such as these.”

However, expressing shock and sorrow over Weinstein and Lo Porto’s deaths, Pakistan insisted it worked hard for their release.

Read: US drone strike: Pakistan shocked over hostage killings

“Ever since his abduction in 2011, the governments of Pakistan and the US were in constant touch on this issue,” the statement said.

“Pakistan’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies had also been making strenuous efforts to locate the whereabouts of Mr. Weinstein. Even as Pakistan prepared to launch military operations in [Pakistan’s border regions], the law enforcement personnel were given special instructions to particularly look for possible clues that could help Pakistan locate and safely recover Mr Warren Weinstein,” it added.

A spokesperson for the family said the Weinsteins “made every effort to engage with those holding him or those with the power to find and rescue him.”

“This is an ordinary American family and they are not familiar with how one manages a kidnapping. As such, they took the advice of those in government who deal with such issues on a regular basis and were disappointed that their efforts were not ultimately successful,” the spokesperson added.

Read: Obama rallies intelligence staff after botched drone strike which killed hostages

White House spokesperson Bernadette Meehan declined to comment on whether the White House knew a ransom had been paid or was aware that other parts of the government were working to help link the family up with Weinstein’s captors.

Meehan instead reiterated that Washington, “as a matter of long-standing policy, does not grant concessions to hostage takers for a very important reason — granting such concessions would put all American citizens overseas at greater risk for kidnapping.”

COMMENTS (2)

unbelievable | 8 years ago | Reply “Warren’s safe return should have been a priority for them based on his contributions to their country, but they failed to take action earlier in his captivity when opportunity presented itself, instead treating Warren’s captivity as more of an annoyance than a priority. I hope the nature of our future relationship with Pakistan is reflective of how they prioritise situations such as these.” . Worth repeating. Obama had the guts to apologize for his actions - how about Pakistan?
Allah Rukha | 8 years ago | Reply The heading is misleading. If the government knew the contact of captors how come they never tried to locate, attack and release the captives. Also, this encourages the criminals to kidnap and demand ransom. ET: Please check your vocabulary. Captives = Prisoners
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