India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that the issue of extraditing Islamic preacher Dr. Zakir Naik was not raised by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during their meeting on Tuesday.
He made these comments while responding to questions during an interaction with media persons at the Indian Council of World Affairs after delivering a lecture.
Mr Ibrahim, however, said the issue should not come in the way of enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries.
Zakir Naik, wanted by Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches, left India in 2016. He was granted permanent residency in Malaysia by the previous government led by Mahathir Mohamed.
“Firstly, it was not raised by the (Indian side), Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) did raise it much earlier, some years back… But the issue is I am not talking about one person, I am talking about the sentiment of extremism, of a compelling case and evidence that suggest the atrocities committed by an individual or group or faction or parties,” PTI quoted the Malaysian PM having said.
The Malaysian Prime Minister emphasized that his government is “open to any ideas and evidence submitted” and reiterated their stance against terrorism. “We will not condone terrorism… We have been tough and have been working together with India on many of these issues. But I don’t think this one case should deter us from further collaboration and enhancing our bilateral cooperation,” he added.
Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to India, his first since becoming Prime Minister in 2022, began on Monday night. During the session, he also criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza and denounced what he described as the “sheer hypocrisy” of the West. He condemned the atrocities committed by Israeli forces in Gaza, claiming they resulted in the deaths of 40,000 people. Ibrahim argued that the West’s condemnation of violence in Ukraine while condoning the large-scale killings in Gaza was hypocritical and must end.
