MULTAN: Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider Gilani, who was released after an operation in Afghanistan last week after three-year captivity, said he was not kidnapped for ransom as his kidnappers wanted release of some people belonging to Al Qaeda, including the family members of Rahim Al-Zawahiri.

He told journalists here on Wednesday that his brothers Ali Musa Gilani and Abdul Qadir Gilani were the actual target of the kidnappers but due to their tight security the militants could not succeed in their plan. He said he was told that the family members including sons and daughters of Rahim Al-Zawahiri had been detained by the Pakistan Army when they were being shifted to Iran.

He said five people were involved in his kidnapping out of which two dropped in Kabirwala, while others drove him to Faisalabad where they kept him in detention for two and a half months. He said his kidnappers were Punjabi speaking.

He said later he was shifted to North Waziristan and during his detention he was handed over to four to five different groups. He said he remained detained in a cell for 14 months and did not see sunlight during this period.

He said his kidnappers detained him in Dattakhel area and he was brought out from the cell when Pakistani forces started shelling the area. He said he was shifted to Afghanistan on Feb 29, 2016 and was handed over to the Afghan Taliban as bailment (Amanat) by Al Qaeda; however, two persons of Al Qaeda were also there to keep an eye on him. He said the Al Qaeda people wanted to keep him in their detention until a deal with Pakistan was finalised for the release of their arrested people.

He said he was rescued by the US army when he was being shifted to Pakistan again on May 9, after his kidnappers got the information regarding a military operation. He said the two Al Qaeda members who were shifting him to Pakistan were killed during the operation.

He said he was not tortured by his kidnappers unlike Shahbaz Taseer. “Taseer was kidnapped by the Uzbek who are cruel but during my detention no one touched me rather they treated me nicely,” he said. He said his family did not pay money for his recovery.

He said the operation Zarb-i-Azb broke the backbone of the TTP.

He said one of his kidnappers was from Faisalabad who was later arrested by the security agencies.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2016