Daily Times

Former Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Raza Gilani on Wednesday said that the Afghan Taliban was not involved in his kidnapping.

He said that he was kidnapped by six terrorists of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“The Afghan Taliban is pursuing a different agenda,” he said in an interview with a private television channel.

Ali Raza Gilani was found during a counter-terror operation in eastern Afghanistan in 2016 three years after he was kidnapped from Multan. “During the three years, I was kept in Faisalabad for two months, and then taken to Waziristan and after that to Afghanistan,” he said.

“I was kidnapped because I was the former PM’s son. During his tenure, Swat and South Waziristan operations were held and Osama Bin Laden was shot dead as well,” he remarked.

“Those three years have made me stronger. They wanted to break me and I did not,” Ali said. He remarked that India was funding the operations of the TTP.

“Research & Analysis Wing has been funding them through different ways and giving them weapons,” he added.

“The Sahiwal episode was very sad,” Ali said. “It was Counter Terrorism Department’s (CTD) own operation. I don’t know if those terrorists were involved in my kidnapping or not. I have nothing to do with it,” he said.

He remarked that the CTD should be careful while using his name. “The people of South Punjab feel that a viceroy is coming in June in the form of a chief secretary. He will rule us like how a viceroy ruled India,” he remarked. He said that people should be blinded to the fact that ‘Takht-e-Lahore’ will still make the decisions.

Published in Daily Times, February 14^th 2019.