Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo's father who was detained for questioning released

Assadullah Naikoo and five others were detained by the police for questioning on Wednesday (August 29) during a night raid in Awantipora area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Srinagar, Aug 31: Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo's father, Asadullah Naikoo, who was detained by the police on Wednesday for questioning, was today (August 31) released, said reports.

Riyaz, alias Mohammad Bin Qasim, is the chief operations of terrorist outfir Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.

Assadullah Naikoo and five others were detained by the police for questioning on Wednesday (August 29) during a night raid in Awantipora area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The police had then, as per a PTI report, said: "We had called him for questioning as he is closely associated with his son, who is an active militant. We have to keep a track of people known to militants but he has not been arrested."

A day before Asadullah Naikoo was detained, a joint team of the police and security forces busted some modules of militant sympathisers in Awantipora area and arrested nine suspects.

Who is Riyaz Naikoo?

In May 2017, Hizbul Mujahideen appointed tech-savvy - Riyaz Naikoo - as its commander in Jammu and Kashmir. Riyaz Naikoo, 29, replaced Sabzar Bhat who was killed in an encounter earlier. Naikoo is ideologically different when compared to Bhat. He prefers a secular society in Kashmir. He had recently urged the Kashmiri Pandits to return to the Valley.

Naikoo who also goes by the name Zubair had said last year in a 11 minute video that Kashmiri Pandits have a warm place in his heart. We welcome them to Kashmir. They are part of our nation. We will protect them as they are not our enemies, he had also said.

While the likes of Sabzar Bhat and Zakir Musa, who were shunted out of the Hizbul, called for the establishment of a Caliphate in Kashmir, Naikoo does not share a similar view.