Shahbaz Taseer, who is in his early 30s, described his survival as a "personal victory".
Highlights
- Shahbaz Taseer spent five years in the captivity of Islamic militants
- Was flogged, shot, had nails pulled out and mouth sewed shut, he recalled
- Mr Taseer described his survival as a 'personal victory'
The son of a murdered Pakistani governor has described in chilling detail how he was flogged, shot and had his nails pulled out by Islamic 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's Urdu service 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.
"For example 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. I bled for seven days and they wouldn't give me any help for seven days."
He also recounted how one of the guards, a Manchester United fan like Taseer, brought him an illicit radio and they listened to soccer games together - saying the guard considered it both a sin and guilty pleasure.
"Getting football news kept me sane," Taseer wrote. "I would tell myself, 'They are playing and winning for you'."
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."