Pakistani journalist released after kidnap

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: Gunmen released a journalist on Friday a day after he was kidnapped in one of Pakistan’s tribal areas on the Afghan border, a relative said.
“Armed men released Lal Wazir and dropped him near Azam Warsak Bazar today,” his uncle Ibrahim Wazir told AFP.
Lal Wazir, 38, who works for a local newspaper in the South Waziristan town of Azam Warsak was taken from a shop by six masked gunmen on Thursday, his uncle Ibrahim Wazir told AFP.
“Nobody has claimed responsibility or contacted the family,” Wazir said, adding that his nephew had just returned from a trip to Islamabad.
“Lal is currently unable to speak to anybody but he arrived back home in safety,” his uncle added.
A local official confirmed the release.
Gunmen had kidnapped the journalist from one of Pakistan’s tribal areas on the Afghan border, where Taleban militants are active, relatives said.
Local tribal government officials earlier confirmed the kidnapping.
Lal Wazir also works for an Islamabad-based think tank specializing in tribal affairs, the FATA Research Center.
Officials from the center said they would not comment as the official authorized to speak to the press had gone out of the country.
The tribal areas are a haven for militants including the Taleban. According to the press campaign group Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan was the third deadliest country for journalists last year, behind Syria and Somalia.