Islamabad: Zakir Naik, the controversial religious figure wanted by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his involvement in illegal activities and promotion of religious hatred, will visit Pakistan next month at the invitation of the Shehbaz Sharif government to deliver a series of public lectures in major cities.
According to a statement on his official social media page, Naik and his son Fariq Naik will visit Pakistan to hold public rallies in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. He will depart from Karachi on October 5 and return to Islamabad on October 20.
Naik’s public addresses in Pakistani cities will be entitled ‘The Purpose of Life—Is it necessary to understand the Quran while reading?’ The Karachi event will take place at Bagh-e-Quaid, opposite the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Following the Pakistani government’s invitation, Naik will be welcomed by the respective Chief Ministers in Karachi and Lahore and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. The government has defended its decision, stating that Naik’s visit is purely for religious and educational purposes, and that he will not be allowed to engage in any activities that could be deemed as promoting religious hatred or inciting violence.
The impending visit of Zakir Naik to Pakistan has already stirred significant concern in India, given his status as a wanted fugitive who has been residing in Malaysia for several years.
In 2017, Bangladeshi officials stated that one of the attackers at a Dhaka cafe was influenced by Zakir Naik. The event, known as the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, had killed 22 persons and was carried out by a group of militants who were reportedly inspired by Naik’s teachings.
In 2017, India’s NIA accused Naik of engaging in illegal activities and inciting religious enmity, further fuelling the suspicions surrounding his activities.
Since then, Naik has been compelled to live in Malaysia, where he has been protected and allowed to run his organisations, including Dubai-based Peace TV and Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).
While he has widespread popularity in Pakistan, many religious leaders from many religions disagree with Naik and question his credibility as a religious teacher.
Naik’s preferred destination after being asked to leave India was Pakistan. However, he decided to move to Malaysia and reasoned that if he would have moved to Pakistan, India would have labelled him as an ISI agent.
“Shariah teaches us to accept a lesser harm to avoid a greater one. If I had moved to Pakistan, India would have labelled me as an ISI agent and shut down my institution,” Naik said in a recent interview.
The visit will once again give New Delhi another opportunity to establish its claims that Pakistan continues to welcome and facilitate entities and individuals who are wanted in India.
“Dr. Naik’s visit will be a big event in Pakistan, but it will further stretch the ties with India. India has already been claiming that Pakistan is a safe haven for people like Osama Bin Laden, Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim and others who have an anti-India agenda. Now with Naik being welcomed in the country, it will further add to India’s case and accusations against Pakistan,” said political analyst Kamran Yousaf.
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–IANS
