Shahbaz Taseer, Ali Gilani being held in Afghanistan: Punjab home minister

Khanzada says government was doing its best to secure safe release of both Gilani and Taseer

LAHORE: Provincial Home Minister Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada on Friday said the kidnapped sons of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and late Punjab governor Salman Taseer were being held in Afghanistan.

Ali Gilani was kidnapped on May 2, 2013 during an election rally in his hometown Multan. At the time of his abduction, in which his secretary and bodyguard were killed, a caretaker setup was in place to supervise the 2013 elections.

Shahbaz Taseer was kidnapped on August 26, 2011 from Lahore. He had left his house from Cavalry Ground in his silver Mercedes Kompressor (LZT-1) for his office at around 10:15am. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore said his car was intercepted by a black SUV and motorbike around 600 yards from the office and up to three men dragged Taseer out of the car and took him away.

Khanzada said the government was doing its best to secure the safe release of both Gilani and Taseer.

He informed the House that 95% of cases of abduction for ransom were being conducted by suspects from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He said the abducted MPA Rana Jamil Hasan had been recovered in December by security agencies.

Khanzada added that the government was working on improving the law and order situation through joint intelligence, effective monitoring and police reforms.