• Son of Pakistani Ex-Prime Minister rescued by US SOF and Afghan Commandos
    0 replies, posted
[t]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/05/11/world/11PAKISTAN-web1/11PAKISTAN-web1-master768.jpg[/t] [QUOTE]ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After three years in captivity, a 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, 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. 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. Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the chief spokesman for United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the joint operation had targeted a Qaeda camp. “We sensed there was a hostage also, but that was not the purpose of the mission,” General Cleveland said. “Some of the individuals tried to flee and they were shot, a total of four people. The person who did not resist was Gilani.” 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. [/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/11/world/asia/pakistan-ali-haider-gilani.html[/URL]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.