Anti-India political commentator Zaid Hamid gets 8 years in prison, 1200 lashes

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Political commentator and controversial figure, Zaid Hamid has been reportedly detained by Saudi authorities during his private visit. Reports suggest that he made speeches against the Saudi government at a function two weeks back and was arrested for slamming and criticizing Arabs.

On June 26, the Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan had confirmed the arrest of defense analyst Zaid Hamid in Saudi Arabia. In a statement emailed to Arynews.tv, the FO had said the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh was trying to get consular access to him.

As per ARY News, the FO spokesman Qazi Khalilullah during a press briefing confirmed the arrest of Mr. Hamid, saying, “Our Embassy in Riyadh has informed us that Mr. Zaid Hamid was arrested about two weeks ago. Since then, the Embassy has been working with the local authorities to get consular access.”
He told that due to the diplomatic efforts, Hamid’s wife was able to talk to him.

Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid is a political commentator and defence analyst in Pakistan who is a prominent figure and often appears on television discussions where he is known for bashing and making outrageous comments about India and its secret service R&AW, and even accusing it of sponsoring terror in Pakistan.

Pakistani journalists, civil society members, writers and Islamic scholars have criticized Hamid and described his views on various issues as “conspiracy theories”.

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