Terrorists kidnap son of former Pakistan prime minister in middle of campaign rally, killing one and wounding five

  • Ali Haider Gilani is running for provincial assembly seat in district of Multan
  • Gunmen pulled up in car and motorbike and opened fire during rally
  • One of Gilani's guards was killed and five people wounded in the attack

Ali Haider Gilani

Ali Haider Gilani (pictured), son of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani,  was kidnapped today during campaign rally by gunmen

Gunmen attacked an election rally in Pakistan's southern Punjab province on Thursday and abducted the son of a former prime minister, intensifying what has already been a violent run-up to Saturday's nationwide elections.

Ali Haider Gilani, the son of ex-premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, is running for a provincial assembly seat in the district of Multan.

He was attending an election event in the town of Multan on Thursday - the last day of campaigning across Pakistan - when the gunmen pulled up, started shooting, grabbed and threw him into a vehicle and drove off, officials and witnesses said.


When he came out of the building, two gunmen opened fire, killing one of the people in Gilani's entourage.


A Punjab government official, Rao Iftikhar Ahmad, said one of Gilani's guards was killed and five people were wounded in the attack.

It was not immediately known who abducted Gilani or why.

Saturday's election marks a historic milestone for Pakistan as one civilian government completes its term and prepares to hand off to another.

But the race has been marred by a string of violent attacks against candidates and election events.

Much of the violence has been at the hands of the Taliban, which has mainly targeted political parties that have supported military operations against the militants in northwestern Pakistan. Gilani is running as a candidate for the Pakistan People's Party, one of the three parties the Taliban has said it is focusing on.


Gilani's father served for roughly four years as prime minister but was forced out of office last summer by the Supreme Court after refusing to pursue a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan's Taliban plan to carry out suicide bombings during Saturday's election in a bid to undermine the poll, according to a letter from the leader of the militant group.

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, in a message to the group's spokesman, outlined plans for attacks, including suicide blasts, in all four of the country's provinces.

Ali Haider Gilani

Ali Haider Gilani (wearing garland) talking with supporters prior to his abduction by unknown gunmen, in Multan earlier today. One of Gilani's guards was killed and five people were wounded in the attack

'We don't accept the system of infidels which is called democracy," Mehsud said in the letter, dated May 1, and obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

Since April, the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban have killed more than 100 people in attacks on candidates and rallies, particularly those of secular-leaning parties, in a bid to undermine elections they regard as un-Islamic.

The attacks have prevented candidates from the three main parties in the ruling coalition from holding big rallies. Instead, they have relied on door-to-door campaigning or small meetings in homes or on street corners.

Yousuf Raza Gilani

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (pictured), the father of kidnapped Ali Haider Gilani

Pakistan's military said on Thursday it would send tens of thousands of troops to polling stations and counting centres to prevent the Taliban from disrupting the election.

The polls, already Pakistan's most violent, marks the first time that a civilian government will complete a full term and hand over to another administration.

The Taliban are blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan, a nuclear-armed strategic ally.

Army spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said 300,000 security officials, including 32,000 troops, had been deployed in Punjab, the most populous province.

'Definitely they have reports and obviously they have made a plan to counter that," newspapers quoted him as saying, referring to security agencies getting threats of violence from the Taliban.

Another 96,000 security forces would be deployed in the northwest of Pakistan, where the Taliban operate from strongholds.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) has capitalised on widespread frustrations with the outgoing government led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history, either through coups or from behind the scenes.