Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not ask me to extradite Zakir Naik, says Malaysian PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise the issue of the extradition of controversial preacher Zakir Naik during their recent meeting on the sidelines of Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia.

Briefing about the meeting of the two prime ministers, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said, "PM Modi raised the issue of Zakir Naik and both the parties decided that the officials will keep in touch regarding it and its an important issue for New Delhi."

Zakir Naik is wanted in India and is known for his hate speeches. In 2017, India had revoked his passport and declared him as an offender. He currently resides in Malaysia which has given him a Permanent Resident (PR) status. The Malaysian prime minister said that PM Modi did not ask him to extradite the controversial Islamic televangelist despite official notice from New Delhi. “Not many countries want him. I met with Modi. He didn't ask me for this man,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying by malaymail.com.

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The Malaysian premier added that his government is also looking for place to extradite Dr Nail who has made racially sensitive comments by saying that Hindu Malaysians are being more loyal to Modi. Dr Mohamad stressed that his government will not allow Dr Naik to speak publicly in Malaysia following his racially divisive remarks. “Well, he's not a national of this country. He has been given, I think by the previous government, permanent residence status. A permanent resident isn't supposed to make any comments on this country's systems and politics. He has breached that. He is now not allowed to speak. We are trying to find some place he can go to but at the moment, no one wants to accept him,” said Dr Mohamed.