Watching Manchester United Games Kept Me Sane, Says Taliban Abductee
Shahbaz Taseer, the son of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province who was murdered, says that he survived the torture from the Taliban for five years only because he watched Manchester United matches
Highlights
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Shahbaz Taseer was held by the Taliban for five years
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Shahbaz is son of Salman Taseer, former governor of Punjab (Pakistan)
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Shahbaz was captured by Taliban gunmen in 2011
The son of a murdered Pakistani governor who was kidnapped by Islamist insurgents has received a signed jersey from Manchester United after revealing that listening to their matches kept him "sane" during his five years in captivity.
Shahbaz Taseer, who is in his early thirties, was captured by gunmen in Lahore in 2011 and returned to his family this March, a rare happy ending that captured the public's imagination in a country that has been battling a homegrown insurgency for more than a decade.
Last month, he described in chilling detail how he was flogged, shot and had his nails pulled out by Uzbek tormentors, but was able to cling on to sanity by following the progress of his favourite football club via a radio that one of his guards, a fellow United fan, snuck into his cell.
"For me, it was a window to the outside world. Getting soccer news kept me sane," Taseer wrote in Pakistan's Daily Times newspaper.
On Saturday he tweeted a picture of himself wearing the famous red shirt, expressing his jubilation.
OMG @ManUtd just sent me this!!! pic.twitter.com/ZJPOvNUdJr
- Shahbaz Taseer (@ShahbazTaseer) June 11, 2016
- Shahbaz Taseer (@ShahbazTaseer) June 11, 2016
I'm in shock! Thank you boys! @ManUtd @AnthonyMartial @carras16 @WayneRooney @LukeShaw23 @AnderHerrera @MarcusRashford @ALindegaard #RED
- Shahbaz Taseer (@ShahbazTaseer) June 11, 2016
Since his release, Shahbaz and his wife Maheen have lit up Twitter with their funny and loving account of their relationship and of his return to civilisation.
His father Salmaan Taseer was governor of Punjab province and was shot dead by his own bodyguard for his opposition to the country's blasphemy laws, which critics say are used to target religious minorities.
The exact circumstances of Shabaz's release remain unclear. He told CNN and the BBC that the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan wanted to use him for a prisoner swap.
Later, after he came into the custody of the Afghan Taliban, he said he was released with the help of a senior militant but did not explain why.
Earlier this year, Argentine football star Lionel Messi sent two jerseys to a five-year-old Afghan boy who became an Internet sensation when he was pictured wearing a plastic bag with "Messi" scrawled on it in marker pen.