PM Modi Raises Zakir Naik’s Extradition With Malaysia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, and sought the extradition of controversial Indian televangelist Zakir Naik.

The two Prime Ministers met on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok in Russia, news agency PTI reported.

“Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of Zakir Naik’s extradition. Both the parties have decided that our officials will stay in contact regarding the matter and it is an important issue for us,” Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said while briefing the media on the meeting.

Naik, a 53-year-old radical TV preacher, left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to largely Muslim Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency.

He has been banned from any public activities in that country after his remarks against Malaysian Hindus and Chinese on August 8.

Prime Minister Modi also discussed with Mahathir the “reorganisation” and the developments related to Jammu and Kashmir. They growing threat of terrorism also figured in their talks.