Taseer's son, Shahbaz Sharif, was kidnapped soon after his father's assassination by his bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri.
Slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer's son who was thought to be abducted by militants in 2011 was not freed by Pakistani security forces, an interior ministry probe has found, leaving the authorities red-faced.
Shahbaz Sharif, 33, was kidnapped from the Gulberg area of Lahore on August 26, 2011, and since then it was feared he was held captive by militant groups. He was kidnapped soon after his liberal father was assassinated by his radical bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri in January 2011, over his stance on the controversial blasphemy law.
Qadri was executed earlier this month in Rawalpindi. Shahbaz was freed on March 8 after being held "captive" for nearly five years. Following his recovery, Balochistan government spokesman Anwarul Haq Kakar had claimed Shahbaz was freed in a "successful operation" by security forces from a hotel in Taliban-dominated Kuchlak town.
But a committee set up by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan to probe the circumstances surrounding the freedom of Shahbaz has disputed the claim by the Balochistan government. "The facts and evidence show that Shahbaz Taseer was not released through an operation by security forces but set free by the captors," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The report said it was not clear why the kidnappers set him free or if they were paid any ransom. It said no one is allowed to use the issue to link it with their performance. "Those involved in using it for personal advancement will be sternly warned," the statement said yesterday.
After the Interior Ministry's reaction to this episode, Kakar said the Balochistan government stood by its official statement. "We don't know why the Interior Ministry is saying he was released by the kidnappers. We stand by our official statement that an operation was carried out by security forces and when they raided a safe house in Kuchlak Shahbaz Taseer identified himself to the forces," Kakar said.
He said it was a successful operation since Kuchlak is a heavily Taliban-dominated area. Nisar had ordered an inquiry into the whole incident soon after Shahbaz was recovered. On Tuesday, Shahbaz was reunited with his family. He was flown to Lahore from Quetta in a special aircraft.
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