Hyderabad: A renowned Hyderabad-origin blogger Zahack Tanvir has been reportedly arrested in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The reason for arrest and specific charges against him are not yet known.
The country’s security forces arrested Tanvir, who is a native of Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad, on Monday, December 18. Taking to X, on Wednesday, December 27, South Asia Index wrote, “Saudi security forces have arrested Indian blogger Zahack Tanveer on charges of working against interests of Saudi Kingdom.”
“Zahack, known for his pro-Modi & pro-RSS views, was arrested on 18th December and has been sent to jail,” it added.
The Indian diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia has neither confirmed not rejected the reports of his arrest.
A person named Vaibhav Singh, who is a founder of defensive offense, took to X and wrote, “It’s shocking to know that Zahack Tanvir(@zahacktanvir) has been Arrested by Saudi authorities on 18th of December on the basis of False Allegations from Government of Pakistan.”
“Requesting @DrSJaishankar & @M_Lekhi to ask some serious questions from @IndianEmbRiyadh on what have they done so far in getting Zahack out because abandoning a patriotic & anti Ikhwan voice of our country in a foreign land is not going to send a very positive message.”
“How can we not ask @KSAmofaEN to release our citizen wrongfully jailed because of what? Just because ISI claimed something fishy?I’m attaching a screenshot of a message Zahack sent me few weeks back in which he already said that Muslim Brotherhood & Pakistanis were after him,” he added.
He also shared a screenshot of a message sent by Zahack recently, which read, “Hi Vaibhav bhai how are you. Just informing you: Indian Tablighis and Pakistanis here in my office are pulling the strings and misguiding Saudi management.My Saudi manager called me and friendly lectured me.These people have reached to my economic zone.”
Many of the social media users have been criticising and favouring his arrest.
“I’m truly taken aback by this news. My heart goes out, hoping @zahacktanvir is released soon to continue his impactful work. Indian authorities must step in,” another wrote.
“It was truly shocking to know that Zahack Tanvir (@zahacktanvir) has been arrested by Saudi authorities on Dec 18 on the basis of false-baseless allegations by Pakistan govt for his pro-India stance. Requesting @DrSJaishankar ji @MEAIndia to take cognizance #ReleaseZahackTanvir,” wrote another.
Another user wrote, “Its really shocking! Zahack Tanvir (@zahacktanvir) is an Indian patriot & loyal to Saudi Govt. He has never done any harm to the Indian or Saudi Establishment. I request @IndianEmbRiyadh to intervene and get him released. #ReleaseZahackTanvir.”
Who is Zahack Tanvir?
Zahack Tanvir, a prominent Non-Resident Indian (NRI) blogger. He holds an engineering degree in computer science and engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad.
He has been interviewed by various platforms and television panel discussions, including Aaj Tak, Bharat Express, NewsX, Defensive Offence, Citti Media, DO News, The Cārvāka Podcast, CoHNA Podcast, The Geo-Stance, and Point-Of-View.
He has also been invited to speak at prestigious international platforms, including the G20’s Youth-20 and an advocacy event at Capitol Hill, Washington DC.
