India continues to pursue its request for extradition of Zakir Naik and it has been informed by the Malaysian government that its appeal is under consultation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is pursuing the matter not only through the Malaysian government but also through its High Commission.
"We have requested for his extradition and time and again not only through our consultation with the Malaysian government but also through our High Commission. We have asked them to expedite the process. We have been told that it is under consultation and it is a process that will take time," he said in response to a question.
Naik, a 53-year-old radical television preacher, left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to Malaysia, which has reportedly granted permanent residency to him.
Asserting that Malaysia has a right to not extradite Naik, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was quoted as saying by 'The Star' newspaper on Monday that "Zakir in general feels that he is not going to get a fair trial (in India)."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content