Jubilant family celebrates Ali Haider Gilani’s arrival

LAHORE: The Gilani residence teemed with Jiyalas who showered Ali Haider's car with petals, and danced to the beat of Dhol as he reached Lahore in special aircraft from Kabul. 

The family is jubilant over meeting Ali Haider after three long years. A convoy of seven cars filled with the Gillani family members including his brothers, son, wife and sisters-in-law received him at the airport.

Ali Haider lifted his six-year-old son in his arms when he met him. 

Ali Haider’s mother Fouzia Gilani said that for the last three years she had been shedding tears. “Allah has finally heard my prayers.

Seven goats for sacrifice have been taken to the Gilani residence in Lahore.

His brothers Ali Musa and Abdul Qadir Gilani who share a birthday with Ali Haider said that for the last three years they had not celebrated their birthdays. "But now I will," said Ali Musa.

His six-year-old son Jamal ud Din Gilani’s face lit up when he heard news of his father’s arrival. “I am very happy that Baba is coming home,” he said.

Jubilant party workers and friends gathered outside the Gilani ancestral residence in Multan breaking into dance and celebrations.

 Ali Haider recovered in joint US forces in Ghazni

Ali Haider was recovered in a joint operation by Afghan and US forces in Ghazni on Tuesday, three years after he was kidnapped from a pre-election rally in Multan.

Ali Haider was sporting a beard when he was seen at the Kabul AirportThe news was first broken by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a tweet.

The Foreign Office said that transfer of Ali Haider Gilani to Pakistan was being arranged following a required medical check-up.

Former PM Yousuf Raza was on his way to a Pakistan People’s Party rally at Bagh Azad Kashmir when he received a phone call from the foreign office, and then talked to his son. “I talked to my son while I was on my way,” said a jubilant Gilani, addressing the rally.

Ali Haider Gilani was seized by suspected Taliban militants in a hail of gunfire on the outskirts of Multan on May 9, 2013, two days before the general elections in which he was campaigning.

Gunmen on a motorbike opened fire before abducting Ali Haider Gilani in a black Honda car. His secretary and a bodyguard were killed and four people wounded. Haider was contesting a seat in the Punjab provincial assembly.
Kasim Gilani poses with Ali Haider and officials at the Kabul airport

In the three years he was abducted, Haider Gilani was able to contact his family only once through an eight-minute telephone call on May 24, 2015.

His father, former PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, was in Multan along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who also spoke to Ali Gilani over the phone.

"My son Ali Haider Gilani told me that he is happy and safe at (an) unknown place," Yousaf Raza Gilani had said after the phone call.

Gilani's recovery comes two months after Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was freed.

Shahbaz Taseer was rescued from Balochistan in March this year, almost five years after he was kidnapped from Lahore on Aug 26, 2011.

Reuters adds: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office said Afghan security forces defeated an Al Qaeda cell in a joint operation with international forces, and suggested that the discovery of Gilani may have been accidental.

“During this anti-insurgency operation, Ali Haider Gilani...was identified at the site of the operation, and was freed from terrorists,” it said.

According to Ghani’s office, the raid occurred in neighbouring Paktika province, which also borders Pakistan’s restive tribal areas.

US forces in Afghanistan confirmed Gilani had been rescued in a joint raid with Afghan commandos in the Gayan district of Paktika, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Four enemy combatants were killed during the operation, which involved US special forces and was carried out under the “Freedom’s Sentinel” counter-terrorism mandate.