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Pakistan ex-PM Gilani's son rejoins family as a free man

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ali Haidar Gilani, the son of Pakistani former Prime Minister, Yusuf Reza Gilani, who was kidnapped three years ago and recovered in Afghanistan on Tuesday, rejoined family on Wednesday.

Gilani was rescued in a joint operation by the Afghan and foreign forces in the eastern Paktika province that borders Pakistan, President Ashraf Ghani and the Resolute Mission said in Kabul on Tuesday. An al-Qaeda militant group was holding him, according to the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad.

Family members of Ali Haider received him on arrival at the Lahore airport. Dozens of relatives were also present outside the airport.

Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan, Abrar Hussain, received Ali Haider Gilani at the Afghan Ministry of Defence in the morning from the Afghan Authorities, the Foreign Ministry said in Islamabad.

Prime Minister's special aircraft was sent to Kabul to bring Ali Gilani to Lahore, capital of Punjab province, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Unidentified armed men kidnapped Ali Haider Gilani in May 2013 from his home district of Multan in Punjab province when he was busy in election campaign.

No group had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. However, it was widely believed that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was behind the incident. The captors later shifted him to Afghanistan from the Pakistani tribal regions where he had been held hostage for at least two years.

In April 2014, in a video, Ali Haider Gilani disclosed that he is in custody of a militant group not part of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The Foreign Ministry said the leadership of Pakistan has deeply appreciated the successful efforts of Afghanistan National Army and NATO forces in recovering Gilani safely and arrangements for his immediate return to Pakistan.

"Pakistan hopes that the three countries can work together to decrease and eliminate terrorism from the region. Terrorists cannot be allowed to hold the government hostage," the statement said. Endit