New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said that the 39 missing Indians from Iraq’s ‘recaptured’ Mosul region were probably held in a prison in Badush, a place where fighting was still on. Ms Swaraj made the remarks when some relatives of those missing Indians met her in the presence of Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (Retd) V K Singh and another MoS External Affairs M J Akbar.
She said during his visit to Iraq last week, Gen Singh was informed that the missing Indians were probably held at a prison in Badush. On July 10 – the day Mosul was ‘recaptured’, Gen V K Singh was deputed by the government to visit Erbil. Gen Singh also visited Baghdad and handed over a letter from Ms Swaraj to the Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim Al Jaafari. seeking cooperation to trace the missing Indians. Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh had also called Ms Swaraj earlier concerning the hostages and their families. On July 13, the Government of India has said that it remains “engaged” very seriously on tracking the where abouts of 39 missing Indians in Iraq.
The Indian government has also requested the Iraqi authorities to alert the airports about the movement of Indians — not just the missing 39 people – but even other Indians, MEA spokesman Gopal Baglay has said. “At the moment we remain engaged very seriously and very sincerely at high levels,” Mr Baglay said.
