India may grant online consular access to foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists

India has received requests from a number of countries seeking consular access to their citizens who were held for attending a congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital flouting visa rules, official sources said on Thursday.

The government is looking at granting consular access to the foreign Tablighi activists through online platform, they said.

Hundreds of Indians and foreigners attended a Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin area of Delhi in March, ignoring warnings by the government against large gatherings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

A number of people who attended the event were later found to be suffering from COVID-19.

Earlier, government sources said foreign nationals, who attended the congregation will face punitive action if they are found to have participated in the gathering violating visa rules.

The Ministry of External Affairs has already informed Indian missions in the countries from where they came to Delhi.

Asked about the extradition of fugitive evangelist Zakir Naik from Malaysia, sources said India continues to pursue the matter with Kuala Lumpur.

Naik, a 53-year-old radical television preacher, left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to Malaysia, which has reportedly granted permanent residency to him. India has made a formal request to Malaysia for the extradition of Naik in January last year.

Asked about the US pushing for India to talk to the Taliban, the sources said New Delhi has its own thinking and policy on the issue.

About the World Health Organisation's upcoming assembly in the wake of the US pushing for Taiwan's inclusion in it, sources said it would be a virtual meeting and its agenda is yet to be decided.