Director General ISPR Asim Bajwa said Awais Shah was recovered from his kidnappers who had made him wear a burqa in order to transport him in Dera Ismail Khan.

Elaborating on Shah's recovery in a press conference, Bajwa said an ambush was foiled in Dera Ismail Khan at a checkpoint at Mufti Mehmood Chowk on the way to Tank.

Bajwa said a figure in a burqa was found in the backseat of the vehicle after a gunman from the security forces shot the driver and two armed militants in order to stop a suspicious blue Toyota Surf that refused to halt at the checkpoint. The burqa-clad figure was identified as Awais Shah, blindfolded, with his hands and feet chained and tape across his mouth.

"He was in a burqa. When we lifted it, he was under it and he had tape on his mouth. It was removed and he said 'My name is Awais Shah and I'm the son of the Sindh High Court Chief Justice'. Security forces then took Shah to a nearby camp where we cut his chains."