General Raheel Sharif is the only person Taliban fear: Ali Haider Gilani

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider Gilani met the army chief on Monday.

Ali Haider, who spent three years as a Taliban prisoner, told Army Chief General Raheel Sharif that his captors feared him. He also called him a brave soldier.

Just met coas gen Raheel sharif. I told him he is the only person in Pakistan taliban fear. Brave solider!#ispr#asimbajwa

— Ali Haider Gillani (@alihaidergilani) July 11, 2016

He was accompanied by his father Yousuf Raza Gilani who thanked the army chief for the efforts Pakistan army made to recover his son.

Ali Haider was recovered in a joint operation by Afghan and US forces in Ghazni in May, three years after he was kidnapped from a pre-election rally in Multan.

He was seized by suspected Taliban militants in a hail of gunfire on the outskirts of Multan on May 9, 2013, two days before the general elections in which he was campaigning.

In a detailed interview with the BBC Ali Haider said that his captors wanted the release of a few women from Ayman al-Zawahiri’s family in exchange of his freedom.

Speaking about his survival in captivity, Gilani stated that he had been chained for over two years and had not felt the sun on his skin for over a year.  He spoke of a diary he used to keep track of time and to pen down his daily thoughts. "It kept me sane," he added.

Ali Haider is working over a book where he will narrate his ordeal as a Taliban prisoner.