The kidnapped son of slain Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was on Tuesday recovered from Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province in a multi-agency security operation, nearly five years after he went missing.
Senior police officer Aizaz Ghoraya confirmed that security and intelligence officials recovered Shahbaz from the Kuchlak area on the outskirts of Qutta city. “He is presently in safe and secure condition and will be taken to lahore soon,” he added.
Another security official said that Shahbaz was recovered in a multi-agency operation with the help of police and the Frontier Corps (FC) in Balochistan.
Shahbaz was kidnapped from the Gulberg area of lahore from near his office on August 26, 2011 and since than it was feared he was held captive by different militant groups.
He was kidnapped soon after his liberal politician father was assassinated by radical Mumtaz Qadri in January, 2011, due to his stance on the controversial blasphemy law. The recovery of Shahbaz comes just a week after Qadri was executed in Rawalpindi.
“He has been recovered and he is in good shape. It is the result of a joint intelligence operation with the help of FC. It is an appreciative operation and effort by all intelligence outfits,” said Anwarul Haq Kakar, a Balochistan Government spokesman.