Man who filmed viral girl cricketer released after abduction in Pakistan’s tribal region
PESHAWAR: The man who filmed a viral video of a young girl playing cricket in Pakistan’s tribal North Waziristan has been released after a brief abduction, a local activist said on Saturday, in an incident underscoring lingering tensions over women’s public presence in the conservative northwestern region.
The clip showed 10-year-old Aina Wazir bowling confidently in North Waziristan, a district once dominated by militant groups and long closed to girls’ sports and schooling. The footage spread widely across Pakistani social media this week, prompting praise from users and an offer of support from Pakistan Super League franchise Peshawar Zalmi.
But shortly after the video gained attention, the man who recorded it, Zafran Wazir, was abducted from the remote Tehsil Shewa area on Friday evening, police confirmed.
“The person who made the video has been abducted by unknown persons in the evening [Friday],” the District Police Officer of North Waziristan, Sajjad Hussain, told Arab News earlier. “The locality is far and hard to reach, and we are trying to recover the missing person.”
