Brazen and in broad daylight: Salmaan Taseer’s son abducted from Lahore
Misfortune struck the Taseer family a second time this year. Shahbaz Taseer, eldest son of slain former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer and his widow Amna, was abducted in broad daylight from Lahore’s Gulberg area on Friday morning.
In the second high-profile case within a fortnight in Lahore, Taseer was abducted on the way to his office by at least three armed men.
The kidnapping brought the Punjab government, particularly its security apparatus, under sharp scrutiny – ironically, at a time when the provincial chief minister was in Karachi lecturing his Sindh counterparts on the worsening law and order situation in the port city.
Earlier on August 13, armed men abducted American aid expert Warren Weinstein from his residence in Model Town. No progress on the case has been reported yet.
(Read: Yet another kidnapping)
The abduction
Taseer left his residence in Cavalry Ground at 10:10 AM in a silver Mercedes Kompressor and was intercepted around 10:19 AM by a black Land Cruiser and a motorcycle, around 600 yards away from his office, close to MM Alam Road.
At least three men dragged Taseer out of his car and took him away, leaving his mobile phones and laptops in the car.
Taseer’s family was informed of the abduction around 10:35 AM when a company employee saw the abandoned car while passing by, sources said.
The kidnappers reportedly headed towards Firdous Market via Cavalry Flyover, which leads to DHA Lahore and the cantonment areas.
A traffic warden in the area reported a black Land Cruiser, a white Corolla and a motorcycle speeding through the area, taking a sharp turn, and dropping a Kalashnikov from one of the cars.
Suspects
“Our family has been receiving threats from the Taliban and extremist groups,” his brother Sheryar Taseer said, adding they could be behind the abduction.
Official sources, however, said that Taseer had some property disputes and had also been receiving threats recently. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The police retrieved CCTV footage from the area to help with investigations.
Security protocol
Taseer, who reportedly commutes in a silver Prado with Elite Force and police guards, was travelling without any police escort on Friday.
One of the guards posted with Taseer was taken into custody and had his weapon seized when the police questioned him at the crime scene.
He revealed that another guard was on leave and that he did not leave the house with Taseer but was later asked to go to the office.
According to the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Ahmed Raza, two police personnel, Liaquat and Sharafat, were posted with Taseer.
The Taseer family had a total of 17 police and five Rangers personnel posted with them, including five ladies police staffers, two assistant sub-inspectors and four head constables, police sources said.
Investigations
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued directives to Inspector General of Police (IG) Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab to take immediate action. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team under Director FIA Punjab started the investigations and a National Response Center for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) team visited the office, home and crime scene to collect forensic evidence.
The federal government directed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the FIA to provide technical assistance to Punjab police for tracing the kidnappers and recovering Taseer.
Intelligence officials also visited the crime scene, and Taseer’s residence and office to collect evidence and information.
Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that all entry and exit points of the city have been sealed following the abduction.
All security agencies are investigating the kidnapping and a joint investigation team has been formed, he added.
Taseer, the eldest son of former governor Salmaan Taseer, is a director in several companies his father founded, including Pace Pakistan Ltd., First Capital Equities Ltd., Media Times Ltd. and First Capital Securities Corp Ltd.
Three leads for investigators
The law enforcement agencies are investigating Taseer’s abduction from three different angles, sources told The Express Tribune on Friday.
Taseer allegedly had a row with tenants at Pace shopping mall whom he had asked to vacate, owing to modifications to the mall’s basement. The tenants claimed damages and on being refused, threatened Shahbaz with dire consequences, sources said.
The Taseers also had a dispute with a major real estate tycoon of the country which came to light when both parties accused each other of malpractices through news items in publications owned respectively by them.
The second suspects are extremists, sources say. The Taseers have been receiving severe threats from extremist groups since Salmaan Taseer’s assassination. Shahbaz, particularly, had been receiving threats since August 10, 2011, family as well as intelligence sources said.
(Read: Taseer’s remarks about blasphemy law)
The law enforcement agencies are also considering Shahbaz’s personal dispute with an alleged girlfriend, sources added.
The police recovered at least three mobile phone sets including a BlackBerry, an iPhone and a Nokia E Series, besides a laptop, from his car.
The three SIM cards on these phones are in Shahbaz, his father-in-law and former bureaucrat Salmaan Ghani and an alleged girlfriend’s name.
Investigators have retrieved call records of all SIM cards, and his email records, and are analysing them.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has sought report from FIA regarding Taseer’s abduction. The agency has sent the report to the interior minister and the interior secretary.
Condemnations
Condemnations flew in from all quarters following Taseer’s abduction.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan visited the victim’s house and appealed to the persons behind abduction to release Taseer.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid also condemned Taseer’s abduction in a statement and added that around 33,000 incidents of kidnapping have taken place during Sharif’s term in Punjab.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed alarm at Taseer’s abduction and called upon the government to ensure his prompt recovery.
According to the HRCP statement, Taseer’s abduction “highlights the government’s inability to afford security and protection even to those known to be at high risk.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2011.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Salmaan Taseer's name. The correction has been made.
COMMENTS (36)
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Is he any different from ordinary people being kidnapped daily.... why the limelight?
@ayesha and CI, if you read the sentence, with the punctuation, you'd realise that you're mistaken.
Because Salmaan Taser had more than one wives, to clarify that Shahbaz is Salmaan and Amna's eldest son, and not just Salmaan's eldest son, the parents are included in the commas.
Read again:
Shahbaz Taseer, [COMMA] eldest son of slain former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer and his widow Amna, [COMMA] was abducted in broad daylight from Lahore’s Gulberg area on Friday morning.
Love.
@MAD: Then why are Pak govt spendin that much money on security if he leaves his guards at home. Ponitless exercise !
Seems the Taseers had an ongoing dispute with real estate tycoon M.Riaz. That should also explain the kidnappers heading towards cantt. Btw, any person who lives in cantt knows its impossible to travel between two intersections without being intercepted by military checkpoints. Its unbelievable that the kidnappers evaded the checkpoint. Very suspicious.
Not at all @Ovais:
Let us hope he is back home safe and well soon."Shahbaz Taseer, eldest son of slain former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer and his widow Amna, was abducted in broad daylight from Lahore’s Gulberg area on Friday morning."
A disgracefully grammatically incorrect sentence - cannot believe the Tribune editors let such gibberish through.
And the odd unspecific unverified and unsourced speculation about an 'alleged girlfriend' is shameful.
after reading 'security protocol', now m relaxed to know that our taxes are being used for good cause..we are living widout electricity, gas, petrol and shedding our blood, paying taxes, just to give security to all the culprits.
Many prayers for Shahbaz Taseer's safe recovery. My thoughts are very much with the family.
@Hassan:
Shahbaz taseer left his guards at home for reasons known only too him. Who's to blame for that. the first reporter was an Elite Force official who happens to be his moms driver.
In the name of the father...
go out of pak as soon as possible.....?
Trail of his father's murderer must be taken to it's logical end and sentence carried out.
Guess Lahore is as unsafe as Karachi.
@BruteForce: May be has been abducted by Secular / Liberal lobby working on foreign agenda in Pakistan to put more pressure on Pakistan.
If only such efficiency was shown every time a citizen was abducted. Sigh.
The heaven has fallen down on earth if the son (Shabaz Taseer with his wife Amna) of a high profile slain father (Salman Taseer, former Governor of Punjab) has been abducted in Lahore in broad day life.
Since yesterday, hundreds of comments have been posted on Express Tribune website and an unending debate has started. The Police and other law enforcing agencies also seem to be on toes to find out as who have abducted Shabaz Taseer and his wife.
Hundreds of people have been mercilessly killed in Karachi, but neither the Police have shown a similar efficiency, or any other law enforcement agency.
Why we people are so status cautious that when an elite is in a problem, everybody gather around his house and when a poor person die in a target killing in Karachi, we even do not care to know who has died and we do not put our hands together to offer our prayers for the deceased.
This is the double standard of our nation. For me, the life of an elite person and an ordinary man is equal and there is no difference between the two.
If our law enforcing agencies, Police and people of Pakistan also start caring when an ordinary man is abducted or killed mercilessly, that will be the day when our thinking will be changed collectively and Pakistan will be put on track on the road of success.
I pray for early recovery of Shabaz Taseer and his wife, like I do pray for an early recovery of an ordinary man after his abduction.
Pakistan is doomed
Oh God again ?
why cant they leave this Family alone ??
The issue is not that he got kidnapped as law and order situation is poor; what’s alarming is the most probable reason behind his kidnapping: blasphemy law, especially because he has nothing to do with blasphemy or blasphemy law. I will be much relieved if his kidnapping is not linked to extremism.
It is amazing that the family of Taseer had 22 security people guarding them. What does this say about the security situation in a country if there is a need to employ so many people for personal security? It is another matter that even with so many people guarding him he was abducted.
If you look closely the Secular symbols of Pakistan are being dismantled slowly but surely. The frequency is increasing.
This is a bad sign for Pakistan. An imminent sign that Pakistan's future lies in radical Islam.
In these testing times our prayers are with the Taseer family. I hope his son is recovered soon.
i sincerly hope he is found, but the state of pakistan is laughable, with that amont of security and he still got kidnapped. how about cases where police refuse to register fir's some where rape & murder is involved for labour class awaam is involved. bad state of affairs gonna get worse
sigh... strong prayers and hopes
Salman raised a voice against the un-Islamic blasphemy laws and was silenced by a terrorist. The extremists among us touted the murderer as a hero. Allah will dispense justice and all supporters of the murderer will be dealt as per what they have sown.
Abductors should respect Imran's appeal. He has staged so many Dharnas in support of terrorists and criminals. An opportunity for them to show some goodwill gesture.
Time to make taseers the Bhuttos for Punjab
No cause for worry. 'Indefinite and indiscriminate surgical operations' against 'target abductors' have been launched. 'All stake holders' have been taken on board. Consultations are in progress to reach a political solution between the abductor and the abductee. National interests wil not be compromised and strategic assets will be protected at all costs.
I hope he will be released soon by his abductors. What a shame decent people cannot live in peace anymore! I believe that his father's assassin was greeted with rose petals by the lawyers. What a shameless, sick and disgusting attitude!