Gilani abduction: ‘Ring leader’ of the gang arrested

Suspect was trying to flee to Afghanistan; Ali Gilani still missing.

NOWSHERA:

Police may have come one step closer to recovering the abducted Ali Haider after a raid netted the alleged leader of the gang said to be behind the kidnapping of the former premier’s son. The arrest came after a search operation conducted by Nowshera police.

On May 9, Ali Haider, the youngest son of former prime minister Yousuf Reza Gilani, was kidnapped after an attack on a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) gathering in Multan.

Ali Haider’s personal secretary, Muhammad Muhiuddin, was killed in the attack while eight others sustained injuries.

According to eyewitnesses a bullet had also hit Ali Haider and he was bleeding when the kidnappers dragged him into a car.

The search operation was launched on Friday morning after police received a tip that Ali Haider Gilani has been shifted to the Marhati area of Akora Khattak in Nowshera.

Talking to media persons, DPO Nowshera Waqar Ahmad said that multiple houses were raided in the Marhati area but Ali Gilani still remains missing.

However, an Afghan citizen identified as Wazir Gul, the alleged ring leader of the kidnappers, has been arrested, he added.



According to reports, Gul was trying to escape to Afghanistan when he was arrested, the DPO said. He is currently being interrogated and police are expected to release more information soon.

Six other suspects, including two women, were arrested on Thursday in connection with the kidnapping in a sting operation carried out by security agencies in Nowshera. A teenage abductee from Orakzai Agency was also recovered from their custody.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.