Furious Pakistan: Don’t Invite Zakir Naik Again!

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Zakir Naik, Shebaz Sharif, Pakstan Prime Minister, Islamic Preacher, India Fugutive

Karachi: Zakir Naik, the fugitive Islamic preacher, receives massive flak for making controversial statements during his tour of Pakistan, with even some of his hardcore followers insisting that Islamabad has made a “big mistake” by inviting him to the country, that too as a ‘state guest’.

On Tuesday, a video of Naik went viral on Pakistani social media. In it, he ridiculed Pakistan’s national carrier, PIA, for levying excess baggage charges on him and his entourage.

“I was coming to Pakistan. Our luggage was 1000kg. I spoke to the PIA CEO. The station manager told me that he would do anything for me. I replied, ‘I have 500 kg to 600 kg extra luggage.’ He offered me a 50 per cent discount. I made it clear to him to give it for free or leave it,” said Naik during one of his lectures in Karachi.

He continued: “I am let off for free in India. They waive 1000-2000 kg on seeing me. And here, in Pakistan, where I am a guest of the government and ‘state guest’ is stamped on my visa, the CEO is offering me a 50 percent discount. I felt so disappointed. I told them I do not want your discount. I feel bad, but this is the truth. This is the state of affairs in Pakistan.”

Naik’s comments have not gone down well with Pakistanis, including his radical followers.

“Whoever invited Zakir Naik, please don’t invite him again! PIA should’ve asked for a FULL price, though. No real Islamic preacher would ever ask for special treatment—or at the very least, they wouldn’t complain about it in public when they don’t get it!” Saad Kaiser, a Pakistani content creator, posted on X.

“Is this the person the government invited as sort of a state guest? Look, he is badmouthing Pakistan and its national carrier. Who advised the government to host him?” questioned a Pakistani journalist.

Some even praised PIA for not giving “special treatment” to Naik, a wanted fugitive in India.

“PIA you maybe the 5th worst airline but you made me proud for letting down Dr Zakir Naik and for that I will risk my life and book my next flight with PIA,” wrote Zoya in a social media post.

Naik has been courting controversy ever since his arrival at the Islamabad International Airport on September 30, along with his son Sheikh Fariq Zakir, on a comprehensive tour of Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

He made headlines immediately for leaving the stage at an event for orphan children in Islamabad and declining to present awards to young girls.

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“Look at the dirty mindset: Dr Zakir Naik refused to present shields to orphaned girls and left the stage, citing that the girls were Na-Muharram. How could such clerics objectify women sexually? Why couldn’t he see these girls as daughters, with father-like love,” said Sindh-based writer Zubair Soomro.

Soon after, Naik – wanted by New Delhi on charges of spreading religious hate and extremism along with alleged involvement in money laundering cases – faced more flak for promoting jihadist mentality when he rebuked a Pashtun girl for questioning him on the rising number of paedophiles in the country.

“This man Zakir Naik thinks 13-14-year-old orphan girls are ‘khawateen’ (grown-ups), and he can’t share the stage with them. He publicly criticises national airlines for denying luggage fee waiver, also says that women who choose to remain unmarried instead of becoming a second wife to someone are public property (bazaari). He also snubs a Pukhtun girl for asking a legit question about paedophilia. Despite all this, they gained some more followers, & some brain-dead people are defending him. Clearly, we as a nation are MAGNET for arrogant people & women haters. State should invite reasonable people; we already have plenty of these roaming on the streets. Yeh, Wrong Number, Hai!!!!!” Absa Komal, another journalist with a leading Pakistani media house, posted on X on Tuesday.

Certainly, Naik’s much-publicised trip is not going as the Pakistani establishment had planned, even after providing him with state protocol and foolproof security.

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–IANS

 

 

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