LAHORE: Ali Haider Gilani, a son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who was released by militants after three years in captivity, has said his abductors wanted to exchange him for Ayman Al-Zawahiri’s relatives.
“Al Qaeda was demanding the release of some women from Ayman al-Zwahiri’s family in my exchange, and a hefty sum,” he told BBC Urdu in an interview here at his Lahore residence.
Ali Gilani said that apart from the ransom and the demands to release high profile Al Qaeda prisoners, his abductors told him that the abduction was aimed directly at his father.
“My father was prime minister when their leader Osama Bin Laden was killed. He also started an operation in South Waziristan. They told me they wanted to take revenge,” he said.
Ali Gilani was first taken to the industrial town of Faisalabad in Punjab province. He was then moved to the tribal areas of North Waziristan. “I was chained for two years,” he said.
Ali Gilani was running for a provincial assembly seat from Multan when he was kidnapped on May 9, 2013. One of his guards and his secretary were killed during his abduction.
