PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad maintains that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not make any extradition request for controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik during their recent meeting in Russia.
“I met Modi. He did not raise the issue.
“He did mention Zakir Naik. But, he didn’t ask for Zakir Naik to be sent to India,” he said after launching the Foreign Policy Framework of the New Malaysia.
Dr Mahathir met his Indian counterpart in Russia earlier this month.
Dr Mahathir was responding to a news report that the Indian government had challenged his claim that no extradition request was made for Zakir Naik.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the issue was brought up during Dr Mahathir’s meeting with Modi in Vladivostok on Sept 5.
The Indian Express also quoted Jaishankar as saying that India had requested Naik’s extradition from Malaysia in January.
Zakir has been wanted by the Indian authorities since 2016 for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches.
The controversial preacher had triggered a furore through his alleged remarks about Indians and Chinese in the country, and the police had barred him from speaking in public.
Zakir has since apologised, but stressed that he was a victim of a vilification campaign.