Kidnapped son of slain Pak governor Taseer reunited with family

Lahore: Amid joyous scenes, the son of slain Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who was rescued from the clutches of the Pakistani Taliban, was today reunited with his family here after nearly five years in captivity.

Shahbaz Taseer, 33, was flown to Lahore in a special aircraft, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) media wing of the military, said in a statement, a day after his dramatic rescue from the restive Balochistan province.

Photographs shared by DG, ISPR Asim Bajwa, showed Shahbaz had changed from the previous night's shalwar kameez into jeans and a polo shirt.

In the second photo, Shahbaz smiles as he points towards the camera and his beard appeared to have been trimmed.

Shahbaz, who was abducted in August, 2011, was recovered by security forces from a hotel on the outskirts of Kuchlak town in Quetta yesterday.

He was then shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta for a complete medical check-up.

News of his recovery brought immense joy to his family members and a large number of the Taseers' friends and relatives reached their Lahore residence and shared the happy moments with them.

"I am are very happy to have my brother among us. Thank God that our Shahbaz Taseer is recovered safely. We are also indebted to the security agencies for their effort to secure the release of Shahbaz," said Shahryar Taseer, younger brother of Shahbaz.

The family members also uploaded photos of the family reunion on Facebook and Twitter.

The Punjab government has provided fool-proof security to the Taseer family after threats from supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, the executed killer of Salman Taseer.

Qadri, the police commando who was on duty to guard the Punjab Governor, had shot Taseer dead in January, 2011, for his liberal views on the controversial blasphemy law.

Last week Qadri was hanged after President Mamnoon Hussain rejected his mercy plea. His supporters had held demonstrations against his hanging.

"We have already doubled the security of the Taseers after the execution of Qadri," DIG Operations Haider Ashraf told PTI.