Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid(), better known as Zaid Hamid, is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Islamist

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

and

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. Born to a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

officer and a Kashmiri mother, Zaid is a supporter of

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

and supports Kashmir-centric anti-government organizations. He claims he fought in Soviet-Afghan War. He is a supporter of

interventions in matters of state and actively campaigns against democracy in Pakistan. He supports Islamic system of government. In 2019, '' The Muslim 500'' included him in their yearly most influential Muslims in the world, as a political commentator and host of TV series on geo-politics,

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...

Muslim history Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or ''Allah'') as it ...

, and Dr. Iqbal’s vision for Pakistan. Historian Manan Ahmed Asif called him the leading voice of a new Pakistani revivalism, because he radicalizes young, urban men and women under the age of 30 — the largest demographics of Pakistan — into a mixture of militant Pakistani nationalism and

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

Early life and education

Zaid was born on March 14, 1964, in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

to a Bihari Muhajir father and a Kashmiri Muslim mother. His father was a Pakistan Army officer. He studied computer systems at the NED University of Engineering & Technology in

. He is second of his four siblings. His father fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Political views

Hamid claims that the November 2008 terrorist attacks in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

were part of a plan hatched by "Hindu Zionists", and that it was an attempt by the Indians to stage a

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

attack, which he accuses the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

of being. On May 27, 2011, he claimed on News One TV channel that Ajmal Qasab's real name was Amar Singh. He was a Sikh and a RAW agent. He also called him a BJP terrorist. His associate's name was Heera Laal. In May 2020, Zaid Hamid said that the COVID vaccine will rid the Muslims of Islamic spirit. COVID is less dangerous than flu. Bill Gates wants to kill the people of this region. On August 6, 2021, he tweeted: "I strongly believe that Pakistan must abandon the UN resolutions (on Kashmir) now...They are dead." Hamid believes that Islamic-prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

had declared war on India, a claim with no reference in Islam, and that India will be "trounced and enslaved according to

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

if Hindus don’t repent and embrace Islam."

Criticism

A number of Pakistani journalists, writers and Islamic scholars have criticized Hamid and have described his views on politics and security as

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. Zaid Hamid has been criticized as xenophobic and accused of hate speech towards

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s and

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s. In 2013, Imaad Khalid, a former staff member of Zaid Hamid, revealed at a press conference, that Zaid Hamid was plotting to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Pro-democracy Army Chief, Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani. He showed to the media the emails that he claims were sent by Zaid Hamid to different Army officers asking them for a revolt against their own chief. He said "Zaid Hamid is a quisling and enemy of Islam and Pakistan, who had plotted unsuccessfully to assassinate the pro-democracy army chief Gen Kayani." Khalid further claimed that Zaid's hit list also contained the names of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

, and others from the media and the judiciary. Ali Usman Qasmi criticizes him for having an "extreme hatred of Hindus and Jews."

Arrest in Saudi Arabia

In June 2015, Hamid was arrested in Saudi Arabia for opposing

Saudi-led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

. He was visiting the Kingdom on a private tour with family when he was arrested. On July 1, 2015, media sources began citing unconfirmed reports that Hamid has been sentenced to 8 years in prison, and 1,000 or 1,200 lashes, for criticizing the Saudi government. Media reports later claimed these reports about the sentence could not be verified. The Pakistan embassy has officially requested consular access and information about the charges against Hamid. He was released in the start of October 2015 due to lack of evidence and baseless allegation of spying for Iran. Hamid alleges that the allegation of spying was hatched up by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India's spy agency. During an interview in 2020, Mr. Hamid claimed that then Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif and DG ISI Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar had played an instrumental role in securing his release.

Books

His books include:

Urdu

*''Pākistān : ek ʻishq, ek junūn''. Booklet describing account of freedom struggle for Pakistan. *''Islām kā siyāsī taṣavvur : Pākistān men̲ maz̲habī o firqahvārānah tashaddud''. Booklet on political thoughts in Islam, includes a brief history of sectarian violence in Pakistan from 1979 to 1996. *''Dahshat gardī ke k̲h̲ilāf Amrīkī jang''. Critical study of war on terror. *''Hindū ṣaihūnīyat''. Critical study of Pak-India relations from ancient times to 21st century. *''Yahūdī aur ʻĪsāʼī Ṣaihūnīyat''. Booklet on alleged Jewish and Christian conspiracies against Muslims. *''Maujūdah Pāk Afghān taʻalluqāt, ek tārīk̲h̲ almīyah''. Historical study of Pakistan and Afghanistan relations; critical review. *''Iqbal Purisrar''. On the life and thought of

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

. *''Halqa-E-Yaran''. A novel concerning matters of spirituality, in the spirit of

Ashfaq Ahmed Ashfaq Ahmed (; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and broadcaster. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. H ...

. *''Khilafat-e-Rashida''. On the

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

caliphs, their system of governance and justice.

English

*''Mumbai : dance of the devil : Hindu Zionists, Mumbai attacks, and the Indian dossier against Pakistan'' *''From Indus to Oxus : memoirs''. Memoirs of author highlighting his role in Soviet-Afghan war, 1979–1989; includes his visits and meeting with Afghan leaders in Afghanistan during 1986–1992. Later translated into

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

by himself as ''Daryā e Sindh sai daryā e Āmūtak : yād'dāshtīn̲''.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamid, Zaid Pakistani Islamists Pakistani Muslim activists 9/11 conspiracy theorists Living people 1964 births Sportspeople from Karachi NED University of Engineering & Technology alumni Pakistani conspiracy theorists Pakistani people of Bihari descent Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Critics of Judaism Anti-Western sentiment Prisoners and detainees of Saudi Arabia Pakistani Muslim scholars of Islam Iqbal scholars Pakistani nationalists Pakistani columnists Pakistani novelists People of the Soviet–Afghan War Defence and security analysts in Pakistan