Kidnapped son of assassinated Pakistan governor found after 5 years

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The kidnapped son of a liberal governor assassinated by his bodyguard was found Tuesday, March 8,  senior officials said, just over a week after his father’s killer was hanged.

Shahbaz Taseer had been kidnapped by Islamist gunmen, reportedly the Taliban, from the city of Lahore in August 2011, months after his father Salmaan was killed for opposing the country’s controversial blasphemy laws.

Aitzaz Goraya, head of the Counter-Terrorism Department of southwestern Balochistan province told the Agence France-Presse: “Yes, we have recovered him.” 

“Acting on a tip off, intelligence forces and police went to a compound in the Kuchlak district some 25 kilometres north of Quetta,” Goraya added. 

“We surrounded the compound and we raided it. We didn’t find anyone. A single person was there and he told us my name is Shahbaz and my father’s name is Salmaan Taseer.”

Goraya described Taseer, who is in his early thirties, as being in “feeble” health. 

Anwarul Haq Kakar, spokesman for the Balochistan government, told the private TV news channel 92 news: “I can confirm that Shahbaz Taseer has been safely recovered. He is in safe hands.”

Last week Pakistan hanged Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who shot the governor 28 times in Islamabad in January 2011.

Analysts described the execution as a key moment in Pakistan’s long fight against militancy, saying it demonstrated the government’s resolve to uphold the rule of law rather than allow extremism to flourish.

But Qadri’s funeral brought up to 100,000 people on to the streets who hailed him as a hero, highlighting the country’s deep religious divide. – Rappler.com