Islamabad // The son of a murdered Pakistani governor has described in chilling detail how he was flogged, shot and had his nails pulled out by militants during almost five years in captivity.
But Shahbaz Taseer, in his first interviews since he returned home in March, said he never abandoned hope he would one day see his family again.
Mr Taseer, who was kidnapped in his home town of Lahore in 2011, described his horrific ordeal in Pakistan’s tribal areas and in Afghanistan in interviews with the BBC and CNN.
He said his kidnap was orchestrated by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan – a group long associated with Al Qaeda which is blamed for high-profile terror attacks in Pakistan including the 2014 storming of Karachi airport.
“I was tortured for about a year in these extravagant Hollywood-style movies they would make for my family to put pressure on them, pressure on the government,” Mr Taseer told CNN on Tuesday.
“They pulled my fingernails out – it started off with them lashing me with rubber whips.
“They would carve my back open with blades and throw salt. They sewed my mouth shut and starved me for a week. They shot me in my leg. They cut flesh off my back,” he recounted.
“I bled for seven days and they wouldn’t give me any help for seven days.”
Mr Taseer, who is in his early 30s, described his survival as a “personal victory”. He said patience and the hope of eventual release sustained him.
“People, friends and family say you are very brave, you came back, it was very heroic. But these are not things I can say about myself. What I can say about myself is that I learnt to be very patient.”
Prior to Mr Taseer’s account, few details were known about his capture or time in detention.
His father Salmaan Taseer was governor of Punjab province but had been shot dead just months earlier by his own bodyguard for his opposition to the country’s blasphemy laws. * Agence-France Presse
