Cricketer Yasir Shah has been accused of involvement in the rape and harassment of a minor in Islamabad, Aaj News reported on Monday.
According to the first information report (FIR), registered at the behest of a woman who filed the complaint at Islamabad's Shalimar police station on December 19, Shah’s friend Farhan allegedly raped a 14-year-old at gunpoint, filmed the act and was blackmailing her.
The case was registered against Yasir and, according to the complainant, the cricketer's friend, Farhan, under sections 292-B and 292-C (child pornography) as well as 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
As per the FIR, the complainant says that she took her 14-year-old niece, a student of class ten, to an event in Lahore where Yasir Shah was present. The FIR added that the complainant was acquainted with the cricketer.
Two to three months after the incident, she found her niece to be unwell. Afte repeated efforts to find the cause of her distress, the niece revealed that Yasir's friend Farhan had taken her number at the same event.
The FIR continues that the accused spoke to the niece several times, during which he also made the girl speak to Yasir Shah on WhatsApp.
"On August 14, while the niece was returning from tuition, Farhan made her get into a taxi and took her to an apartment in the F-11 area. There, he sexually assualted her at gunpoint, filmed the episode and threatened to make it viral if she told anyone about it," it adds.
It added that Farhan also made Yasir threaten the girl to ensure her silence.
Yasir told the girl that he was a famous cricketer and warned the minor of dire consequences, the complainant continues.
The aunt stated that the girl later told her that Farhan raped her a second time after blackmailing her to come to an apartment in the E-11 area.
The minor's aunt, also the complainant in the cas,e hten contacted the cricketer directly in September. She said the cricketer, who was in West Indies at the time, mocked her while stating that he liked minor girls, while proposing the 14-year-old's marriage with his friend Farhan.
The cricketer also threatened the complainant with dire consequences, including threatening to kill her.
When she threatened to approach the authorities, the cricketer offered to buy the girl an apartment and bear her expenses till she turned 18 provided she agreed to the survivor's marriage to her alleged rapist Farhan.
According to the complainant, the cricketer and his friend continue to threaten her, with Yasir Shah asking for a meeting on December 22 at his flat in Islamabad. "He said that if my niece could please him, all matters would be settled. Otherwise, do what you can," she said.
The complainant alleged that Farhan and Yasir were serial rapists and blackmailers who invite minor girls at their 'shisha' centre to trap them.
As per the police, further investigation is under way with the survivor scheduled to undergo a medical test.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also took note of the incident. Without naming Yasir, the PCB said that it had noted the allegations levelled against one of the board's "centrally contracted players".
The PCB said it was "presently gathering information at its end and will only offer a comment when in possession of complete facts".