Bangladesh interim govt issues temporary stay on Islamic hate preacher Zakir Naik’s visit, amid pre-poll security tensions

DHAKA, Nov 5 : The Bangladesh government has temporarily barred the entry of infamous Islamic hate preacher, Zakir Naik, ahead of his upcoming visit to the country, on the verdict of the country’s Law and Order Core Committee, due to mounting concerns among officials that his visit could prove dangerous ahead of the upcoming elections.

Officials of the body held a meeting at the Home Secretariat yesterday, with Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in the chair, where they discussed the issue at length, reports Prothom Alo.

The radical preacher is a declared fugitive in India, following the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka, which was attributed to his extremist sermons, promoting violence.

Before he could be arrested, Naik fled to Malayasia where he was granted permanent residency. Apart from India, Naik has been banned from entering the UK, Canada, Sri Lanka, while Bangladesh had fully barred his entry under the tenure of former PM Sheikh Hasina.

It was noted that the visit was likely to invite a large crowd, which will in turn require the mass deployment of law and order personnel for crowd control, which was not feasible, as the country awaits its upcoming polls next year.

The meeting further instructed all concerned authorities to engage with the organisers of the event, in order to understand their intentions, before concluding that hosting such a figure before the polls could further destabilise the country’s already volatile socio-political fabric, though he could be allowed entry after the elections had concluded.

The terror-sympathiser was scheduled to visit the country on a two-day visit between November 28-29, to give a series of lectures at an event, organised by a local company called Spark Event Management, which had obtained permission from the government, greenlighting his visit.

(UNI)

The post Bangladesh interim govt issues temporary stay on Islamic hate preacher Zakir Naik’s visit, amid pre-poll security tensions appeared first on Daily Excelsior.

News