- Title: Rescued son of Pakistani ex-PM heads home, thanks Afghan forces
- Date: 11th May 2016
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (MAY 11, 2016) (REUTERS) AFGHAN ARMY HELICOPTER CARRYING ALI HAIDER GILANI SON OF FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINSTER WHO WAS KIDNAPPED AND RELEASED BY AFGHAN AND U.S. FORCES LANDING AT THE COMPOUND OF AFGHAN DEFENSE MINISTRY MORE OF HELICOPTER LANDED AT THE COMPOUND OF AFGHAN DEFENSE MINISTRY AFGHAN AND PAKISTANI OFFICIALS ARRIVING AT THE HANDOVER CEREMONY ALI HAIDER GILANI SON OF FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER WALKING OUT OF THE HELICOPTER GILANI SHAKING HANDS WITH AFGHAN AND PAKISTANI OFFICIALS CLOSE OF GILANI (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) AFGHAN ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF, QADAM SHAH SHAHEEM, SAYING: "We planned a special operation carried out by the Afghan army special forces. In this operation a number of al Qaeda members who resisted were killed and fortunately it resulted to rescue our beloved young unharmed. Today we officially submit him to the people of Pakistan." AFGHAN ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF QADAM SHAH SHAKING HAND WITH GILANI (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALI HAIDER GILANI, SON OF FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER WHO WAS RESCUED BY AFGHAN AND U.S SPECIAL FORCES, SAYING: "I really appreciate the Afghan government effort and the Afghan forces effort for someone like...they sacrifices for someone from another country that shows the efforts of the Afghan government to bringing peace in our region and I would also like to thank the U.S. forces which at critical moments of my release provided me with shelter, food and medical care and at this time I am just looking forward to be reunited with my family and just getting back to normal life, Thank you." AFGHAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, NASIR AHMAD ANDISHA HANDING OVER GILANI TO PAKISTAN AMBASSADOR FOR AFGHANISTAN SYED ABRAR HUSSAIN NATO SOLDIERS STANDING GUARD AT THE CEREMONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN AMBASSADOR FOR AFGHANISTAN, SYED ABRAR HUSSAIN, SAYING: "It's a great day today when my brother Mr. Ali Haider Gilani who was kidnapped three years ago from Multan has been rescued in Afghanistan. I am thankful to the government of Afghanistan, I am thankful to Afghan army who made special efforts for his rescue and I am also thankful to the Afghan foreign office and the whole Afghan nation for this kind gesture and for bringing Mr. Ali Haider to us and transferring him to Pakistan. I am once again thankful to all of you." AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIERS STANDING GUARD MORE OF AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIERS
- Embargoed: 26th May 2016 08:59
- Keywords: Afghanistan Pakistan former prime minister Gilani rescued son Afghan forces
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0014HD4JET
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The kidnapped son of Pakistan's former prime minister who was rescued by U.S. and Afghan forces from his al Qaida captors in Afghanistan was headed home to Pakistan on Wednesday (May 11) on a chartered plane.
Ali Haider Gilani, son of ex-premier Yusuf Raza Gilani, was held for three years after being abducted by gunman in his home town in Pakistan just days before the 2013 elections.
"We planned a special operation carried out by the Afghan army special forces. In this operation a number of al Qaeda members who resisted were killed and fortunately it resulted to rescue our beloved young unharmed. Today we officially submit him to the people of Pakistan," said Qadam Shah Shaheem, Afghan army chief of staff.
He was reunited with his brother - who flew into Kabul on a chartered flight dispatched by Pakistan - and thanked his rescuers in brief comments as he was handed over to Pakistani diplomats at the Afghan Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
"I really appreciate the Afghan government effort and the Afghan forces effort for someone like...they sacrifices for someone from another country that shows the efforts of the Afghan government to bringing peace in our region and I would also like to thank the U.S. forces which at critical moments of my release provided me with shelter, food and medical care and at this time I am just looking forward to be reunited with my family and just getting back to normal life, Thank you," said Ali Haider Gilani, son of ex-premier Yusuf Raza Gilani
He also thanked the Pakistani army, saying that the ongoing operation against Islamist militants in Pakistan's northwest tribal regions drove his captors to flee across the border in Afghanistan.
He was due to be flown home on a chartered aircraft sent from Pakistan with his brother aboard, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.
The Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan said it is a "great day" to have Gilani back.
Gilani was abducted outside an office of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in his home town of Multan, in southern Punjab province, two days before Pakistan's landmark May 11, 2013 general election.
His father, a veteran PPP member, was prime minister from 2008 to 2012, when he was removed from office by the Supreme Court over contempt of court charges related to his refusal to reopen corruption cases against then-president Asif Ali Zardari.
Ali Haider's was not the only high-profile abduction in Pakistan in recent years.
The son of a Pakistani governor, assassinated for criticising the country's harsh blasphemy laws, was kidnapped in 2011. Shahbaz Taseer was recovered in the southwestern city of Quetta in March. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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