Zakir Naik slams Pak airlines for not waiving extra baggage charge, gets trolled
Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has slammed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for not waiving charges for extra baggage.
While he was travelling to the country from Malaysia, and instead offering him a 50 per cent discount. However, Naik, who is wanted in India on charges of hate speech and inciting communal disharmony, said a situation like this would never occur in his home country.
Naik arrived in Pakistan on October 1 and is scheduled to stay till October 28. He made these remarks while addressing supporters in Karachi.
“While I was coming to Pakistan, our baggage weighed about 1,000 kg. I spoke to the CEO of PIA. The station manager assured me that he would do anything for me. When I told him that I had 500 to 600 kg of extra luggage, with some six people travelling with me, he offered me a 50 per cent discount. I told him that I would bring four more people since it would get even cheaper. I asked him to give it for free or leave it. I rejected the discount,” he said.
The Mumbai-born preacher further claimed that when a non-Muslim sees him in India, they would let him go for free.
“This is India, where people see Dr Zakir Naik and readily waive 1,000 kg to 2,000 kg extra baggage. But in Pakistan, I am a guest of the government and state guest is written on my visa. And your (PIA) CEO is offering me 50 per cent discount?” he queried.
The controversial preacher also complained that the airlines charged him 101 Malaysian ringgit (Rs 2,137 approximately) for every 1 kg of extra baggage.
“I was so hurt that the PIA could not even allow me to carry 300 kg of extra baggage as a state guest,” he lamented.
“I don’t want your discount. I am saddened to speak the truth, but this is the state of affairs in Pakistan. In India, even when a Hindu sees me, they say ‘Dr Naik will always speak the truth’. In today’s date, India is not wrong, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is. The respect that I get in India…. People in Pakistan also like me nonetheless.”
The Islamic preacher’s remarks went viral on social media, where several users trolled and criticised him.
One user defended the PIA’s move to offer Naik a 50 per cent discount despite suffering from heavy losses. “The state should choose state guests wisely. Such is the state of affairs and affairs of the state.”
While one social media user slammed him for “bad mouthing Pakistan and its national carrier”, another took a pot shot and said, “Pakistanis have really disappointed Zakir Naik. I hope he doesn’t visit our duty free at the airport, otherwise he will send lanat on us.”
The Islamic preacher fled India in 2016 after the National Investigation Agency registered a case against him in the wake of the terror attacks in Dhaka. The anti-terror agency’s action came after one of the attackers confessed that he was influenced by Naik’s preachings on YouTube.
Since then, Naik has been living in Malaysia, where he continues to deliver sermons and lectures.
India has requested his extradition, but Malaysia is yet to respond. The Centre has declared him a fugitive, banned his Islamic Research Foundation, and revoked his passport.