Shahbaz Taseer escaped in Febraury but hadn’t spoken publically about the torments that he faced at the hands of his captors who were part of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan which have links to al-Qaeda.
Mr Taseer said: “I was tortured for about a year in these extravagant Hollywood-style movies that they would make for my family, to put pressure on them, pressure on the government. People, friends and family say you are very heroic but these are not things I can say about myself. What I can say about myself is that I have learnt to be very patient.”
Mr. Taseer was kidnapped by a gang in Lahore in August 2011, only seven months after his father, Salman Taseer, governor of the Punjab province, was assassinated after speaking up about the blasphemy laws of Pakistan.
His captors demanded many things from the government such as the release of prisoners that were imprisoned in Pakistan. The government refused their demands, including a ransom payment.
After years of torture, he was finally freed by a member of the Afghan Taliban, “It’s insane [how] you can find humanity where there is none,” Shahbaz said.
“You can take the miracle how you want,” he says, and describes himself as “walking back from the dead to celebrate my father.”
He also said: “You forget the faces of the people you love and then suddenly you have your life back. It’s such an amazing feeling. To see my wife, To have breakfast with my mother, drive with my brother or to watch a football game with friends.”
