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| Man held for five years by Pakistan militants is reunited with family | Man held for five years by Pakistan militants is reunited with family |
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| A day after his five years in militant captivity came to an end, Shahbaz Taseer flew to his home city of Lahore on Wednesday to be reunited with his family. | A day after his five years in militant captivity came to an end, Shahbaz Taseer flew to his home city of Lahore on Wednesday to be reunited with his family. |
| Pictures posted online by Pakistan’s army spokesman showed the smiling 33-year-old wearing jeans and polo shirt, striding from the stairs of a private jet. | Pictures posted online by Pakistan’s army spokesman showed the smiling 33-year-old wearing jeans and polo shirt, striding from the stairs of a private jet. |
| Related: Son of murdered Pakistan governor rescued after years in captivity | Related: Son of murdered Pakistan governor rescued after years in captivity |
| Shahbaz Taseer flown to Lahore, lands and reunites with his family pic.twitter.com/eLkgDJRXSn | Shahbaz Taseer flown to Lahore, lands and reunites with his family pic.twitter.com/eLkgDJRXSn |
| He was also pictured greeting his mother, Aamna Taseer, and other members of one of Pakistan’s leading business families, which has also dabbled in national politics. | He was also pictured greeting his mother, Aamna Taseer, and other members of one of Pakistan’s leading business families, which has also dabbled in national politics. |
| Taseer’s father, former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, was murdered by an Islamist gunmen just months before Shahbaz was kidnapped on 26 August 2011 as he was driving his sports car to his office in Lahore. | Taseer’s father, former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, was murdered by an Islamist gunmen just months before Shahbaz was kidnapped on 26 August 2011 as he was driving his sports car to his office in Lahore. |
| Gone were the traditional clothes and Balochi cap he had been wearing the day before when he walked into the Al Saleem restaurant in the town of Kuchlak in the restive southern province of Balochistan. | Gone were the traditional clothes and Balochi cap he had been wearing the day before when he walked into the Al Saleem restaurant in the town of Kuchlak in the restive southern province of Balochistan. |
| Latest pics of Mr Shahbaz Taseer taken at Quetta,9:30 PM today.In full protection,he is hale and hearty pic.twitter.com/MqmfYtEzcX | Latest pics of Mr Shahbaz Taseer taken at Quetta,9:30 PM today.In full protection,he is hale and hearty pic.twitter.com/MqmfYtEzcX |
| Although security officials claimed Taseer was recovered during a raid based on an intelligence tipoff there have been claims a settlement had been reached with the kidnappers. | Although security officials claimed Taseer was recovered during a raid based on an intelligence tipoff there have been claims a settlement had been reached with the kidnappers. |
| Al Saleem’s owner said Taseer simply walked into what is one of Kuchlak’s most prominent restaurants, ordered food and then asked to make a phone call. | Al Saleem’s owner said Taseer simply walked into what is one of Kuchlak’s most prominent restaurants, ordered food and then asked to make a phone call. |
| During his almost five years as a hostage, Taseer is thought to have been moved around the country and passed between different militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Janghvi, al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban. | |
| No details have been released about which group was holding him at the time he regained his freedom. It is possible ongoing military operations against militant groups had made it progressively harder for Taseer to be held by his captors. | No details have been released about which group was holding him at the time he regained his freedom. It is possible ongoing military operations against militant groups had made it progressively harder for Taseer to be held by his captors. |
| Taseer’s return came just over a week after his father’s killer, a former police bodyguard called Mumtaz Qadri, was finally executed. | Taseer’s return came just over a week after his father’s killer, a former police bodyguard called Mumtaz Qadri, was finally executed. |
| His hanging surprised some commentators because Qadri enjoyed deep public support for killing Taseer, who before his death had been demonised by radical mullahs for his criticism of the country’s infamous blasphemy laws. | His hanging surprised some commentators because Qadri enjoyed deep public support for killing Taseer, who before his death had been demonised by radical mullahs for his criticism of the country’s infamous blasphemy laws. |
| He had also campaigned for a pardon for a poor Christian woman named Asia Bibi who had been sentenced to death under what Taseer dubbed a “black law” despite a weak case against her. | He had also campaigned for a pardon for a poor Christian woman named Asia Bibi who had been sentenced to death under what Taseer dubbed a “black law” despite a weak case against her. |
| An estimated 100,000 people attended Qadri’s funeral prayers in the city of Rawalpindi while a suicide bomb attack on a courthouse on Monday that killed 17 people was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which said it was to avenge Qadri’s execution. | An estimated 100,000 people attended Qadri’s funeral prayers in the city of Rawalpindi while a suicide bomb attack on a courthouse on Monday that killed 17 people was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which said it was to avenge Qadri’s execution. |