LAHORE: The freed son of a former Pakistani premier was reunited with his family in a shower of rose petals in Lahore Wednesday, three years after he was kidnapped then taken to Afghanistan.

Ali Haider Gilani, son of Yousaf Raza Gilani, was rescued during a counter-terror raid by US and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday.

Crowds of well-wishers dancing to drum beats greeted the 30-year-old’s arrival at his family’s home in Lahore in a black SUV strewn with pink rose petals. Later, up to ten goats were sacrificed in celebration.

Faiza Malik, a Punjabi politician, said she was “very emotional” after witnessing the scene inside the house.

“Almost everyone had tears in their eyes after meeting Ali Gilani,” she said. “There was nobody — brother, sister, uncles — who was not weeping after hugging him.”

Gilani, who is a triplet, was accompanied by his brother Ali Kasim on the journey from Kabul in a plane that the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said was sent by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

His father was reportedly absent from the reunion, with television channels reporting his appearance in a court in Islamabad on corruption charges.

“I really appreciate the... Afghan forces efforts,” Gilani, bearded and wearing a white T-shirt and camouflage baseball cap, told media at a ceremony earlier Wednesday in Kabul.