Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be Taliban, kidnapped former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider after killing his personal secretary in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Thursday, heightening security concerns two days ahead of the historic general elections. Several people were injured by the gunmen, who bundled Haider into a car and sped off.
“One of the gunmen grabbed Haider who had blood splashed on his trousers,” said Shehryar Ali in comments aired by Pakistani television broadcaster Geo News.
Haider was attending an election rally in Multan on Thursday — the last day of campaigning across Pakistan.
Mohiyuddin, the personal secretary of Ali Haider, was killed, and four bodyguards were injured. Initial reports had said a bodyguard was also killed in the attack.
Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, “I cannot rule out the hand of extremists in this incident.”
Haider was campaigning for his elder brother Abdul Qadir. Punjab Police blocked all entry points of Multan as part of efforts to trace Ali Haider.
Gilani had earlier postponed a rally scheduled to be held in Multan on Thursday because of threats. “We cannot take the risk of holding rallies because of a security threat,” he had said in a statement issued to the media a few days ago.
The former premier had also refused to lead PPP election rallies because of a threat from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Security agencies said that Taliban have plans to attack foreign election observers, foreign journalists, important candidates and officials of the Election Commission during the May 11 polls, according to a media report on Thursday.
The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has formed a special force to carry out the attacks, the Urdu daily 'Dunya' quoted a secret document as saying.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has warned it will target secular parties like the Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party ahead of the May 11 general election.
The threats have forced the parties to virtually stop campaigning for the polls. The elections mark a historic milestone for the nation as one civilian government completes its term and prepares to hand off to another. PTI
“We were screaming that we need security for our candidates. We were saying that we have received threats, but no one heard our pleas, and we did not get security,” said PPP spokeswoman Sharmila Farouqi. “Now see what has happened. The son of a former Prime Minister has been kidnapped.”
The former Prime Minister has focused his efforts on helping his sons in their election efforts. While most of the pre-election violence has been targeted at the parties viewed as more liberal and secular, no one has been immune.
On Thursday, a bomb blew up at an election office of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in the city of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area near Afghanistan, according to two Pakistan intelligence officials. One person was killed and six others wounded, the officials said.