The kidnapping of Ali
Haider Gilani is the latest in a string of attacks that have plagued the
run-up to Pakistan's national elections scheduled for Saturday.
Two gunmen in a vehicle
killed two people and injured eight others as they kidnapped Gilani in
Punjab province, his brother Ali Qasim Gilani told CNN.
Ali Haider Gilani -- son
of former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani -- was on his way
to address a public meeting in the city of Multan when the attack
happened, police senior superintendent Khurram Shakur told local TV
reporters.
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The younger Gilani has been running for a seat in the Punjab provincial assembly.
Prime Minister Mir Hazar
Khan Khoso called the elder Gilani on Thursday to assure him that all
necessary steps would be taken to recover the son, Khoso's office said.
Saturday's nationwide
elections are to be Pakistan's first democratic transition of power, as
the governing Pakistan People's Party is poised to become the first
civilian government to complete a full five-year term.
But campaigns have been
plagued by deadly violence in recent weeks, and the Pakistani Taliban
has claimed responsibility for several hits on candidates' campaigns.
At least 16 people died
Tuesday in two attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; one attack
targeted a PPP rally, and the other targeted a candidate for the Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal Ur Rehman group, police said.
And on Monday, an
explosion killed 18 people at a rally for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal Ur
Rehman, a right-wing religious party with sympathies for the militant
Taliban movement. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for that
blast, saying it attacked because one of the candidates, Munir Orakzai,
has handed over members of the Mujahedeen to the United States.
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