Crowds of well-wishers dancing to drum beats greeted the 30-year-old’s arrival at his family’s home in Lahore in a black SUV strewn with pink rose petals.
Advertisement
“Alhamdulillah (thanks be to God)”, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto tweeted.
His father was Pakistan’s Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012.
Speaking on the occasion, Yusuf Raza Gilani said Afghan-US forces, in a joint operation, recovered his son for which they deserved appreciation.
Gilani’s rescue was coupled with the killing of four Al Qaeda militants at the raid site.
“During this anti-insurgency operation, Ali Haider Gilani…was identified at the site of the operation, and was freed from terrorists”, a spokesperson said. There was no claim of responsibility for the abduction but suspicion immediately fell on the Taliban.
The incident offered a rare moment of warmth and respite in long-running tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, which many in Afghanistan blame for fostering and sheltering Taliban leaders on their soil.
“I really appreciate the…”
Gilani was recovered in Paktika, a province that borders Pakistan, and officials said he would be moved to Kabul for a medical check-up before being returned home.
“I have not yet spoken to him and will confirm only after my father confirms it to us, because there have been rumours about his release earlier also which were untrue”, he said.
Former Pakistani premier Yusuf Raza Gilani. “I congratulate Yousaf Raza Gillani and his entire family on the recovery”, Haq said while talking to The Express Tribune.
“Almost everyone had tears in their eyes after meeting Ali Haider Gilani”, said Faiza Malik, a politician in the Punjab province.
“We are thankful to God”, he said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised Afghan forces’ “increasing capability in conducting successful anti-terror and humanitarian operations”.
Advertisement
“He [Ali Haider Gilani] called himself from an Afghanistan number, and he just told me, ‘I have United States military around me, and they have rescued me, and now what are you doing?”
