Photojournalist Mukhtar Zahoor (27), who was detained in a night raid on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday has been released and is back at his residence in Dalgate area.
Zahoor who works as a freelance correspondent with BBC and has occasionally worked with Al Jazeera, The Caravan, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal, was detained after around 12:30 a.m. midnight, he received a call from someone asking him to meet at the gate of his house. After which, it was discovered that a group of armed forces personnel and police were waiting for him, The Kashmir Walla reported.
After confirming Mukhtar’s identity, the forces took him along with them. Reportedly, Zahoor’s sister told The Kashmir Walla that his camera was taken along, with her phone. She was also asked by a police official to clear things that were scattered in Zahoor’s room.
Zahoor’s family said the police told them that he was being taken for questioning. The family was asked to come to the police station Ram Munshi Bagh in the morning. Although when the family went in the morning, they were informed that Mukhtar was there but they should visit at 5 p.m. in the evening.
The Kashmir Walla reported that they had spoken to the Station House Officer (S.H.O) Ram Munshi Bagh, Tauseef Meer, who told them that the police suspected Zahoor and were hence, questioning him.
The SHO didn’t inform the exact reason behind Zahoor’s detention, but did say that everything was clear and that “he will be released soon,” most probably.