‘Condemnable, not surprising’: MEA on Zakir Naik’s Pak visit

Even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now headed to Islamabad for the SCO Summit later this month, it is unclear if the issue will be raised with the Pakistan leadership during the visit.

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Zakir Naik is wanted in India for money laundering and for inciting extremism through hate speeches. (File Photo)

Conveying India’s ‘disappointment’ over controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s visit to Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs Friday said it was “condemnable” but not “surprising.”

Addressing reporters, MEA spokesperson Randheer Jaiswal said, “We have seen reports that he has been feted in Pakistan and warmly welcomed there. It is not surprising to us that an Indian fugitive has received a high-level welcome in Pakistan. It is disappointing and condemnable but not surprising.”

Naik is wanted in India for money laundering and for inciting extremism through hate speeches. He arrived in Pakistan Tuesday on a month-long tour and is slated to deliver lectures in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. A day after his arrival, he also met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.

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Even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now headed to Islamabad for the SCO Summit later this month, it is unclear if the issue will be raised with the Pakistan leadership during the visit.

Naik fled in 2016 and became a permanent resident of Malaysia. Jaiswal also mentioned that India had raised the issue of Naik with Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim during his visit to Delhi in August. In response to a question, Ibrahim had said that if sufficient evidence is presented in the case related to the fugitive preacher, the country will “not condone terrorism.”

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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