Former premier hopes his son will be released soon, says will talk to Afghan authorities for release
The kidnapped son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called his father on Sunday after two years in captivity and told him he was well.
Ali Haider Gilani, 29, was seized by militants in a hail of gunfire on the outskirts of the city of Multan in Punjab province on May 9, 2013, two days before the national election in which he was campaigning.
Gunmen on a motorbike opened fire before abducting Ali Haider Gilani in a black Honda car.
His secretary and a bodyguard were killed and four people wounded.
“My son Ali Haider Gilani told me that he is happy and safe at (an) unknown place,” Yousaf Raza Gilani told a foreign news outfit after the phone call.
“He enquired about the health of his mother and other family members. He declined to disclose more and said that Almighty Allah will surely help us. He said that he is safe and sound and we should not be worried about him.”
Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was with Gilani when he received the eight-minute phone call, also talked to his son.
“The call was made from (an) unknown place, probably from Afghanistan. Gilani (junior) told me that he is happy and in the safest place and that he was seeking God’s help to see his family soon,” Qureshi told reporters.
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 (Sunday) 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,” Gilani said.