Radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is a fugitive from India is in Oman to deliver Islamic lectures and his presence in Oman has fueled the speculation that he will be extradited to India. Official documents show Sultanate of Oman has an extradition treaty with India. Now India has said it will take all the necessary actions required to bring back radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and to make him face justice in India.
The big question is, will Oman honour its extradition treaty with India and agree to deport Zakir Naik? The fundamentalist Islamic preacher has been residing as an exile in Malaysia, which too has an extradition treaty with India but has not agreed to deport Naik, despite several attempts by India. Malaysia has been providing refuge to Naik, not honoring the treaty it signed with India.
India said today it will take all the necessary actions required to bring back radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and to make him face justice in India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that India has “taken up the matter with the government of Oman and its authorities”.
Addressing a weekly press conference, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Zakir Naik is an accused in numerous cases in India. He is a fugitive from justice. We have taken up the matter with the government of Oman and its authorities.”
Bagchi’s remarks came days after Zakir Naik arrived in Oman as a “state guest”. Naik’s lawyer, Akberdin Abdul Kader, has refuted reports of his arrest or deportation. Akberdin said Zakir had in fact been given a state reception in Muscat, the capital city of Oman. Naik too posted a video after reaching Oman and thanked the authorities for the welcome.
Amid all the speculation over Naik’s extradition, MEA did not confirm that India has an extradition treaty with Oman. Responding to a question on whether Naik will be extradited from Oman, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said he needs to confirm with the ratified list if India has an extradition treaty with Oman or not.
“As regards the extradition part, I will check on this. I think the list of countries we have an extradition treaty is already in the public domain and Oman is not on the list. However, I do need to reconfirm,” he said.
Read Also:https://indiadiplomacy.in/saudi-arabia-refuses-aid-without-strings-to-pakistan/
