Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani spoke to his abducted son Ali Haider Gilani over telephone on Sunday for the first time since he was kidnapped two years ago.
The former prime minister confirmed to various media outlets that he had spoken to Ali Haider Gilani over a telephone call from Afghanistan that lasted about eight minutes. Gilani said that his son was safe, and that he was “in high spirits”. He was in Multan along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who also spoke to Ali Gilani over the phone.
Ali Gilani was kidnapped from Multan on May 9, 2013 while campaigning on the last day of his election campaign for his candidacy for Multan’s PP-200 constituency. His secretary and guard were shot dead in the attack by unknown gunmen. Since then, media reports suggested that he was taken by his kidnappers first to the country’s lawless tribal areas, and then reportedly shifted from North Waziristan to Afghanistan’s Kunar province after the launch of a military operation in the tribal areas.
Earlier this month, Gilani was part of a delegation led by former president Asif Zardari to Kabul, where the former premier sought the release of his abducted son after getting clues to his possible presence in Afghanistan. Gilani was reported to have also sought the release of Shahbaz Taseer, the abducted son of slain Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who is also reported to have been taken to Afghanistan.
When asked on Sunday, Gilani confirmed that he had also pushed for Taseer’s release, but that he only spoke his own son today over phone. He said that his son was safe and “in high spirits”. He expressed the hope that his son would be released soon. The ex-PM said the abductors had made some demands; however, he did not reveal those demands. “I spoke to him, he is all right. Now I have to talk to Afghan authorities for release of my son,” he said.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/24-May-2015/former-pm-gilani-speaks-to-abducted-son-for-first-time-in-2-years
No comments:
Post a Comment