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| Son of Pakistani Ex-Prime Minister, Kidnapped in 2013, Is Rescued | Son of Pakistani Ex-Prime Minister, Kidnapped in 2013, Is Rescued |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After three years in captivity, the son of a former Pakistani prime minister was freed by Afghan and United States security forces during a raid on Qaeda militants in Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After three years in captivity, the son of a former Pakistani prime minister was freed by Afghan and United States security forces during a raid on Qaeda militants in Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday. |
| Ali Haider Gilani, 30, the son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was kidnapped in May 2013 from a suburb of his hometown, Multan, just days before general elections. | |
| The kidnapping came as a jolt to Yousaf Raza Gilani’s Pakistan Peoples Party, which along with the Awami National Party had faced threats from the Taliban over their campaigns against the militants. | The kidnapping came as a jolt to Yousaf Raza Gilani’s Pakistan Peoples Party, which along with the Awami National Party had faced threats from the Taliban over their campaigns against the militants. |
| Afghan and American officials said on Tuesday that United States Special Operations forces and Afghan commandos had carried out a joint raid against militants in the district of Giyan in Paktika Province that resulted in the recovery of Mr. Gilani. | |
| “Under Operation Freedom’s Sentinel authority, the counterterror mission was planned and launched after evidence of terrorist activity was confirmed,” a statement released by the United States forces in Afghanistan said. “Four enemy combatants were killed as a result of the operation. No other injuries or damage was observed or reported.” | “Under Operation Freedom’s Sentinel authority, the counterterror mission was planned and launched after evidence of terrorist activity was confirmed,” a statement released by the United States forces in Afghanistan said. “Four enemy combatants were killed as a result of the operation. No other injuries or damage was observed or reported.” |
| Tawab Ghorzang, a spokesman for the National Security Council of Afghanistan, said at a news conference: “It was another operation in our continuous efforts against Al Qaeda. We did not have specific information that Mr. Gilani was held there, but that there was an Al Qaeda cell there.” | Tawab Ghorzang, a spokesman for the National Security Council of Afghanistan, said at a news conference: “It was another operation in our continuous efforts against Al Qaeda. We did not have specific information that Mr. Gilani was held there, but that there was an Al Qaeda cell there.” |
| Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Afghanistan’s national security adviser, had called Sartaj Aziz, the adviser on foreign affairs to Pakistan’s prime minister, to inform him about the recovery. | |
| However, Afghan officials denied that such a contact had been made. | |
| Mr. Gilani was campaigning for a provincial assembly seat in a suburb of Multan on May 9, 2013, when he was attacked by gunmen who shot and killed his personal secretary before kidnapping him. Two of his brothers, who were running for seats in the National Assembly, withdrew from the elections after the kidnapping. His father was dismissed as prime minister in 2012 by Pakistan’s Supreme Court after he refused to open corruption cases against the president at the time, Asif Ali Zardari. | Mr. Gilani was campaigning for a provincial assembly seat in a suburb of Multan on May 9, 2013, when he was attacked by gunmen who shot and killed his personal secretary before kidnapping him. Two of his brothers, who were running for seats in the National Assembly, withdrew from the elections after the kidnapping. His father was dismissed as prime minister in 2012 by Pakistan’s Supreme Court after he refused to open corruption cases against the president at the time, Asif Ali Zardari. |
| The news of Mr. Gilani’s recovery was welcomed across Pakistan and by the Pakistan Peoples Party. | The news of Mr. Gilani’s recovery was welcomed across Pakistan and by the Pakistan Peoples Party. |
| In March, Shahbaz Ali Taseer, the son of a prominent former governor, was found in southwestern Pakistan five years after militants kidnapped him. | In March, Shahbaz Ali Taseer, the son of a prominent former governor, was found in southwestern Pakistan five years after militants kidnapped him. |
| Members of the Gilani family said they were overjoyed. | Members of the Gilani family said they were overjoyed. |
| “We are so ecstatic and relieved,” Fiza Gilani, Mr. Gilani’s sister, said by phone from the eastern city of Lahore. “It was a terrible ordeal, and all these years, I and the whole family kept praying for the safe return of my brother. Today, that day has finally arrived.” | “We are so ecstatic and relieved,” Fiza Gilani, Mr. Gilani’s sister, said by phone from the eastern city of Lahore. “It was a terrible ordeal, and all these years, I and the whole family kept praying for the safe return of my brother. Today, that day has finally arrived.” |
| It was not immediately clear when Mr. Gilani was moved by his captors to Afghanistan. Family members said that last year he had made contact with the family, calling from an Afghan telephone number and urging them to cooperate with his captors. | |
| On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Gilani spoke by phone with family members in Pakistan from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, said Ali Musa Gilani, a brother. “He asked us to make his return quick,” he said. | On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Gilani spoke by phone with family members in Pakistan from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, said Ali Musa Gilani, a brother. “He asked us to make his return quick,” he said. |