Further grief struck the family of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer as the provincial capital witnessed the second high-profile kidnapping in August, when unidentified gunmen abducted Shahbaz Taseer, the son of the slain governor, from near his office in Gulberg on Friday.
In the first incident of this kind, a businessman named Amir Malik, the son-in-law of General Tariq Majeed, was abducted by unidentified gunmen from Garden Town Police precincts over a year ago. In the second such incident, some eight unidentified gunmen had kidnapped American national Dr Warren Weinstein from his office-cum-residence in Model Town. A police official, who asked not to be named, told Pakistan Today that Taseer had left his house in Cavalry Ground in his Mercedes sports car (LZT-1) at around 10am without any security cover to go to the head office of First Capital Group at 103-C, Gulberg III for routine work.
He said Taseer had used MM Alam Road to reach his office from the Firdous Market side, and as he took a turn into Dr Ameer-ud-Din Road from a link road off MM Alam Road, four unidentified gunmen in a black Toyota Prado stopped his car. The kidnappers reportedly forced Taseer into their car on gunpoint and whisked him off at around 10.19am, leaving his car on Dr Ameer-ud-Din Road close to the office of the assistant commissioner in Gulberg III. The kidnappers left Taseer’s two cell phones and laptop computer in the street, close to House No 27-C-II, Gulberg III. He was abducted some 600 metres from his office.
Meanwhile, a driver of the Taseer family later identified as Fawad noticed the abandoned car of his boss and informed police at around 10.35am, after which a heavy contingent reached the crime scene within 15 minutes of the emergency call. Footage from two CCTV cameras installed on the wall of a nearby school showed that the kidnappers were standing in the street before Taseer arrived, and that the road was quite busy at the time of the incident. The crime scene was cordoned off and surrounded by police as forensics teams collected evidence from the abandoned car. Police also took Taseer’s cell phones and laptop into custody and launched a search operation in Gulberg, Model Town and Defence and deployed police commandos in the neighbourhoods.
CLUE FOUND: Later in the day, police arrested two suspects in connection with the abduction, but released them shortly afterwards following interrogation. Deputy Inspector General Operations Ghulam Muhammad Dogar told a private TV channel late at night that police had found a clue in the abduction. A forensics expert said they had taken fingerprints from the abandoned car but they belonged to many people. He said they had also taken into custody a rifle abandoned by the kidnappers.
EYEWITNESSSES: A security guard at the assistant commissioner’s office quoted an eyewitness as saying that he was on a motorcycle with his friend and as they took a turn towards Dr Ameer-ud-Din Road, armed men pointed guns at them and told them to leave the area. The eyewitness said that he got confused and fell from the bike and received injuries. In the meantime, the kidnappers took Taseer out of his car and bundled him into their jeep and fled, he added. He said further that the kidnappers went towards Hussain Chowk from the same street and as they neared the Firdous Market intersection, they threw a rifle out of the car in front of Park Plaza Hotel and fled towards an unknown destination.
A traffic warden, later identified as Zeeshan, who was present at the traffic signal, noticed the gun and the rashly driven Prado and radioed a call for other wardens to keep an eye out for it. However, the jeep was not spotted again. Police investigators claimed that the incident could be the result of a business rivalry while other experts claimed Taseer could have been kidnapped for ransom. Family disputes on property distribution could also become a motive behind the kidnapping, a senior police officer claimed.
Some investigators believed that the same group that had earlier kidnapped US national Dr Warren Weinstein and businessman Amir Malik was involved in Taseer’s abduction. Some Counter-Terrorism Department officials said the kidnappers might move Taseer out of the city in the next three-four days after the search had cooled down. Investigators also believed that Taseer would be moved using different vehicles to minimise chances of being caught. They said it seemed from CCTV footage from restaurants on MM Alam Road that the Prado was being followed by accomplices in other cars.
Lahore Police set up checkposts throughout the city, especially at points of exit, and started checking suspect vehicles. SSP Operations Shaukat Abbas told reporters at the crime scene that two policemen from the Elite Force were given to Taseer for personal security but they were not with him at the time of the incident. He claimed that Taseer often used to visit his office alone from the same route. A first information report (No 1036/11) has been registered under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code against unidentified kidnappers on the complaint of Taseer’s aunt Ayesha Tammy Haq. She said no ransom call had been received so far. Amna Taseer, Shahbaz’s mother, refused to comment.
CHIEF MINISTER: Later, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif went to the residence of the Taseer family and met Amna Taseer and Shehryar Taseer, Shahbaz’s brother. The chief minister assured them that all resources would be utilised for the swift recovery of Shahbaz and that he would personally supervise the investigation. Federal investigation and intelligence agencies are reportedly providing technical and intelligence support to the provincial administrations and law enforcement agencies to help recover Taseer. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani separately contacted the Taseer family and assured them that all efforts would be made to recover Shahbaz.
Criticising the provincial government for the kidnapping, Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa said at a press conference at Governor’s House that either the Punjab government was involved in the kidnapping or it was incompetent. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the kidnappers were militants who belonged to North Waziristan. He added that Taseer would be recovered soon as all entry and exit points of the city had been sealed.
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