Former Pakistan PM Gilani rejects 'rumours' of paying ransom for son's release

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday rejected "rumours" circulating on social media regarding the release of his son Ali Haider Gilani after three years in detention.

"All people on social media are not our friends. There may be some other people on social media who do not like us," the former prime minister said in response to a question whether ransom money was paid for his son's release, reports Dawn.

Gilani said that his son was recovered after a successful military operation carried out by the US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. There had been a military operation on a foreign country's soil, leaving several al-Qaeda terrorists dead. This resulted in the release of Ali Haider from Afghanistan.

The PPP leader lauded the efforts of the US and Afghan forces for the safe recovery of his son. Gilani said that he received several phone calls, congratulating him over his son?s recovery. Ali Haider arrived in Lahore earlier on Wednesday after being rescued during a counter-terror raid by the US and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday.

He was kidnapped by the militants in the outskirts of Multan on May 9, 2013, just two days before a bitterly contested national election in which he was campaigning.