India to soon request for Zakir Naik’s extradition

NEWDELHI: India will soon make a request to Malaysia for the extradition of Zakir Naik, charged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for radicalising youth, the external affairs ministry said on Friday.

There were reports that the Islamic preacher was given permanent residency in Malaysia.

Ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India’s internal legal process before approaching a foreign country with an extradition request was nearing completion in the case of Naik.

Asked about reports that Naik has been given permanent residency by Malaysia, which main- tained that it has not received any official request from India related to terrorism allegations involving the preacher, Kumar said, “Our legal process is nearing completion and we will be making an extradition request very soon.”

Media reports said that Naik obtained permanent residency five years ago. Kumar also said that the nature of the extradition request will be known in the next few days.

The NIA has charged Naik and Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) he founded in 1991 with indulging in unlawful activities and promoting religious hatred. The government has imposed a five-year ban on the IRF and has declared Naik an absconder.