Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took up the issue of extradition of controversial radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad. Zakir Naik is a fugitive in India, who has escaped and has taken shelter in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Modi discussed the matter with Mohamad during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in Russia, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale while addressing media persons while briefing on the meeting.

Strengthening ties with an important ASEAN partner PM @narendramodi met with Malaysian PM @chedetofficial on the margins of #EEF2019 in #Vladivostok. Discussions focused on the multiple layers of India – Malaysian bilateral relationship. pic.twitter.com/E1Y8RgLkFd — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2019

In response to a question on the outcome of the meeting regarding India’s request to Malaysia for Naik’s extradition, Gokhale said that the two countries have decided that their officials will be in touch on the matter.

According to the report, sources said that the Malaysian Prime Minister responded positively after PM Modi raised the issue with him. They added that the matter will now be discussed by the officials of the two countries. The officials will discuss the process through which Naik cab be brought back to India at the earliest to face the law of the land.

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Naik is wanted in India for serious charges related to terrorism after his name cropped in connection with a ghastly terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 2016.

Radical Islamist Zakir Naik, a Mumbai-born 53-year-old who is the founder of the controversial ‘Peace TV’ has been living in Malaysia since 2017 after fleeing from India and the previous government there had granted permanent residency to him.

Although the current Mahathir administration has barred the controversial Islamic preacher from delivering public speeches, it is yet to take any decision on sending him back to India.

The controversial Islamic preacher is also facing an inquiry set up by the government of Mahathir Mohamed, who had initially said he could not accept calls to deport the preacher to India as he would be “killed” there.