Salmaan Taseer’s son recovered from Quetta outskirts

Ch Nisar confirms news in Senate; Gilani says
efforts be made for recovery of his son too

ISLAMABAD: Security forces have recovered Shahbaz Taseer, the son of the late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, from Balochistan’s Kuchlak area. According to media reports, Shahbaz’s recovery came after the paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies raided a hotel in Kuchlak on the outskirts of Quetta.

“The intelligence agencies have recovered Shahbaz Taseer from an area near Kuchlak, Balochistan,” said a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The military shared photos of Shahbaz with a short statement that he is “hale and hearty”.

Taseer has now been shifted from Kuchlak to Quetta and is reportedly in stable condition, a security official said. Doctors were also called to conduct a medical checkup, he added. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was briefing the Senate on the National Action Plan when the news of Shahbaz’ recovery broke, also confirmed the development.

“I have some good news. I just received information regarding the recovery of Salmaan Taseer’s son.” The 'raid' to recover Shahbaz “Secret services and security forces personnel conducted a raid at a compound in Kuchlak and recovered a person identified as Shahbaz Taseer,” said an official.  

Kuchlak is a windy town some 25 kilometres north of Balochistan capital Quetta. The district also houses a large number of Afghan refugees. Security sources are yet to confirm the arrest of kidnappers during the recovery operation.

Shahbaz was kidnapped from Lahore on Aug 26, 2011, near his company’s head office in Gulberg area. He was driving towards the offices of the First Capital Group off MM Alam Road in Gulberg when he was intercepted by the kidnappers.

The abductors who, according to witnesses, used a jeep and a motorcycle, bundled the young Taseer into the four-wheeler and rushed away unimpeded. No details on the whereabouts of Shahbaz had earlier been made public. However, there were speculations that he was held captive in restive Waziristan by a group that was negotiating the release of Salman Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri and other prisoners.

There were also unverified reports of Shahbaz being killed in a drone strike in Waziristan. The Pakistani Taliban have never officially confirmed their involvement in the kidnapping, but analysts are of the view that the army operation in the tribal areas had made it “difficult” for the group to keep him. “That's why they preferred to set him free,” the source said.

Shahbaz Taseer's father-in-law Salman Ghani also confirmed his freedom, but did not give any details. Yousaf Raza Gilani, while congratulating Taseer family on the recovery of Shahbaz Taseer, expressed hope that his son “Ali Gilani will also be recovered soon”. He also said efforts should now be made for recovery of his son.

Ali Gilani was leaving a PPP street corner meeting outside the house of a local supporter at Matti Tal Road in Farrukh Town when he was kidnapped three years back. Reacting to the development, former President Asif Ali Zardari has welcomed the release from captivity of Shahbaz Taseer, son of former Governor Punjab late Salman Taseer.

“The release of Shahbaz Taseer after over four and a half years of captivity is most welcome news not only for Shahbaz and his family but also for the whole nation,” said the former president in a statement Tuesday. The news of release was announced by Interior Minister Ch Nisar in the Senate.

Zardari expressed the hope that the son of former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani, kidnapped during the 2013 elections, will also be released.”It is hard to imagine the torture of uncertainty inflicted on a person and his family who is abducted by unknown abductors and kept for five years at an unknown location beyond any glimmer of hope and far beyond the reach of law,” he said. S

The former President said Shahbaz Taseer and his entire family deserve to be commended for enduring this ordeal and nerve wrecking experience ever since he was kidnapped in August 2011 with remarkable patience, composure and dignity.

Asif Ali Zardari expressed the hope that despite this harrowing experience Shabaz Taseer and the family will remain unscathed emotionally and psychologically and that Shabaz Taseer will gather himself and move on in life.

He said that it was not yet clear as to who and how his release became possible. “However, all those who made efforts in securing his release deserve to be commended,” he said.