[AA.TR] The External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday revoked the passport of popular Moslem preacher Zakir Naik, who is wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism funding.
Naik is well known in various countries for his expertise in debating on Islamic issues. He has about 16 million followers on Facebook and has delivered close to 4,000 lectures on Islam in many countries.
His programs on Peace TV, which he founded in 2006, was very popular among Indian Moslems; the channel was banned by the government last year.
The National Investigation Agency had made a request a few days back to revoke Naik’s passport, an official statement said.
"The Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, has revoked the Indian passport of Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, resident of B-1005/1006 Jasmine Apartment, 65-B, Dockyard Road, Mazagaon, Mumbai, under the provisions of the Passport Act 1967," it said.
The 51-year-old had failed to respond to a show cause notice issued to him for a personal appearance by July 13 after which the passport office took action against him, it added.
After the terror attack in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka last year, the federal agency had filed a case against the preacher and his Mumbai-based nongovernmental organization, the Islamic Research Foundation.
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