Police suspect property dispute behind firing at Naseem Shah’s family home

Police suspect property dispute behind firing at Naseem Shah’s family home. (Image: X)

Police looking into the firing incident at Pakistani cricketer Naseem Shah's ancestral home have linked it to a potential property dispute, which has generated a stir in the area.

Naseem chose to remain with the team for the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday despite unknown attackers firing at the gate of his ancestral house in the Lower Dir province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No one was hurt in the incident.

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According to Lower Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Taimur Khan, preliminary investigations revealed a property dispute or regional animosity.

"It could be the result of the overall security environment in the area," Khan said.

He claimed to have visited with Naseem's father and other family members, assembled a team to look into the incident, and added security to the cricketer's home.

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The attackers fired shots at the Hujra (guest space) entry next to the family home in Lower Dir, he said.

Many of the players on the Pakistani national squad are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where security forces often combat terrorist strikes in the northern regions. Tribal conflicts are also very well-known in the northern regions.

Zimbabwe will be the third team in a T20I tri-series that follows the three-match ODI series in Rawalpindi.

With Mohammed Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed as the team's only spinners, Pakistan's three fast bowlers constitute the core of the attack. Saim Ayub, who frequently takes the new ball alongside captain Shaheen Afridi, has recently shown promise with his bowling.

Afridi, Naseem, and Haris Rauf continue to be Pakistan's top three players. However, after the ICC ruled Rauf guilty and awarded him four demerit points, he was suspended for two games during the South Africa ODI series.

Naseem has been chosen for the T20I tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka as well as the ODI series. In anticipation of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, focus is progressively turning to the T20 format, and this will be Pakistan's second home series of the year.

Pakistan recently won both the T20I and ODI series by a 2-1 margin, defeating South Africa, the previous T20 World Cup finalists. Following the home series, Pakistan will travel to Sri Lanka, which will host all of their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures.