Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday briefed his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad about the rationale behind his government’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. He also sought the extradition of radical televangelist Zakir Naik, wanted in India for alleged money laundering and for inciting extremism. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum held at Vladivostok in the Russian Far East Region. “Had a great meeting with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia. We talked about bilateral ties between our nations and ways to further diversify cooperation,” Modi tweeted. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Modi discussed with Mahathir the “reorganisation” and developments related to Jammu and Kashmir. They also discussed the growing threat of terrorism, he said. “Prime Minister Modi explained to Mahathir the rationale behind the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in terms of both giving effective governance and delivering socio-economic justice. And in that context the two leaders discussed the focus was on terrorism, on how to combat the growing threat of terrorism. Prime Minister Mahathir acknowledged that terrorism was a global problem and Malaysia is against any form terrorism,” he said. After India’s decision on Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had called up Mahathir and sought his support on the issue. The Malaysian Prime Minister had then expressed hope that India and Pakistan would exercise “utmost restraint” to prevent further escalation. Modi also raised the issue of Zakir Naik’s extradition during his meeting with Mahathir, Gokhale said. “Both the parties have decided that our officials will stay in contact regarding the matter and it is an important issue for us,” the Foreign Secretary said. Naik, a 53-year-old radical preacher, left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency. He has been banned from from any public activities in Malaysia after his remarks against Hindus and Chinese there on August 8. This is the second meeting between the two leaders — the first was in May last year when Modi called on Mahathir in Putrajaya after the 94-year-old leader won the general election. Gokhale said the meeting between the two Prime Ministers was “very warm”. “Modi also described Mahathir’s election as a historic one and said India was looking forward to working with Malaysia,” he added. “Prime Minister Mahathir acknowledged that there was a growing trade between the two countries, but that Malaysia had a surplus in trade. He assured Prime Minister Modi that while we should grow this trade, Malaysia is looking at ways by which we can balance this trade,” Gokhale said. Mahathir said Malaysia would consider importing more from India, he said.
