MULTAN: Ali Haider Gilani, a son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was kidnapped from Multan on Thursday.
The kidnapping occurred, when a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) corner meeting ongoing on Multan’s Matti-Tal road, was attacked by gunmen.
Police said Ali Haider Gilani’s personal secretary, Mohiuddin, was killed in the attack and one of his guards wounded, along with four other people, in the abduction.
“People came on a motorbike. They also had a car with them and they opened fire and abducted Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider in a black Honda,” police officer Khurram Shakur told reporters.
Haider was a provincial assembly candidate for the secular PPP and his two brothers Ali Musa Gilani and Abdul Qadir Gilani are standing for the national assembly.
After the kidnapping, Gilani’s sons, Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir were seen to be angry and in tears.
“I will not allow elections to be held in my constituency at any cost. My brother is gone, how can I let polls take place in Multan,” an emotional Ali Musa Gilani told television channels.
According to police, all entry and exit points for Multan were sealed and a massive search operation was underway to recover Ali Haider and apprehend those responsible.
Interior Minister Habib Khan also said searches were ongoing and the kidnapping would not impact the coming elections.
Gilani was contesting for the May 11 election from PPP-200 constituency in Multan.
The family of Yousuf Raza Gilani is one of the most powerful in the central town of Multan and a key clan in the PPP, whose campaign for re-election has been dramatically curtailed by Taliban threats.
The Pakistani Taliban, which have dismissed the elections as unIslamic, say they have dispatched suicide bombers to mount attacks on polling day on Saturday, but there was no claim of responsibility for the abduction of Ali Haider Gilani.
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