The Indian government confirmed that it had made a formal request for the extradition of controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik.
Indian Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Shri Raveesh Kumar confirmed this in an e-mail reply to new sportal Malaysiakini.
“We sent the formal request to extradite Zakir Naik, who is an Indian citizen now residing in Malaysia, as he is wanted for a criminal case in India.
“Our request is still being considered by the Malaysian authorities,” he said, while referring to the extradition agreement signed by both countries in 2010.
The news portal quoted Raveesh as saying that the Indian government was in regular contact with their Malaysian counterparts regarding the controversial Muslim preacher, who has permanent residency status here.
It was reported that contradicting claims had emerged over whether the Indian authorities had made a formal extradition request to get Zakir back to his homeland.
Several DAP lawmakers said they had raised Zakir’s issue during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that Malaysia will not bow to “pressure” to deport the preacher, as he had not committed any crime here.
Zakir is facing court charges in India for money laundering, supporting terrorist activities and inciting religious tension.