Journalist released after being kidnapped in South Waziristan

Lal Wazir taken from a shop by six masked gunmen on Thursday according to his uncle.

MIRANSHAH: Gunmen released a journalist 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.

"Lal is currently unable to speak to anybody but he arrived back home in safety," his uncle added.

A local official confirmed the release.

"Nobody has claimed responsibility or contacted the family," Wazir said.

Lal Wazir also works for an Islamabad-based think tank specialising in tribal affairs, the FATA Reasearch Centre.

Officials from the centre said they would not comment as the official authorised to speak to the press had gone out of the country.

The tribal areas are a haven for militants and according to the press campaign group Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan was the third deadliest country for journalists last year, behind Syria and Somalia.