Family finds mentally deranged man after video goes viral

Gilgit: In an extraordinary tale that illustrates the power of social media in today’s interconnected world, a mentally challenged man from Gilgit-Baltistan, who had been missing for three years, was reunited with his family through a viral TikTok video.

The heartwarming reunion was the result of a video posted by Hamza Naseer, a vlogger and TikToker from Rawalakot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Naseer, who has over 23,900 followers, encountered a dishevelled man with long hair and a beard wandering the streets of Rawalakot.

While talking to Hum News English, Hamza Naseer said the person with a unique appearance was seen in the city for the last two or three years. No one paid attention to him. As people with such appearance are usually assumed to be from any secret agency.

On December 27, he said, when he was filming him, locals who suspected the man might be linked to secret agencies warned him not to do so. Despite warnings, Naseer filmed and shared the video on TikTok. Little did he know, his act of curiosity and compassion was about to change lives.

The video quickly went viral, amassing over 1.7 million views, with more than 1950 shares and 100,000 likes. This widespread attention led to around 500 people reaching out to Naseer, including some from the Upper Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, believing the man to be a long-lost relative.

The vlogger said that some people from Dir came to him, but they and the person himself couldn’t identify each other. However, a language barrier prevented identification, even after they trimmed his hair and beard. The person could speak Urdu and another language, which the people from Dir couldn’t speak.

The turning point came when Naseer received a call from the man’s actual family in the Shiger District of Gilgit Baltistan. They recognized their lost member and immediately contacted Naseer, imploring him not to hand the man over to anyone else. Naseer said people from Gilgit-Baltistan reached Rawalakot the next day. Naseer, collaborating with the police and local administration, facilitated a meeting between the man and his family.

Naseer said the reunion was emotionally charged; the man and his family recognized each other instantly and shared a heartfelt embrace, communicating in their native Balti language. Police later handed the man over to his family after completing the necessary formalities. They said he was Muhammad Tahir from the Shiger District of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Muhammad Tahir, as identified by his younger Ghulam Rasool, had initially travelled to Karachi three years prior. After a brief stay and regular contact, he disappeared, with the family losing all contact during the pandemic. “We found him because of TikTok,” Rasool stated, expressing profound relief and gratitude.

Web Desk