Don’t Know if 39 Missing Indians Are Dead or Alive, Says Iraq Foreign Minister

Baghdad on Sunday said that in a high-level coordination with New Delhi efforts are being made to trace the 39 missing Indians.

Updated: July 24, 2017 8:23 PM IST

By Shubhang Chauhan

Don't Know if 39 Missing Indians Are Dead or Alive, Says Iraq Foreign Minister
Iraq Foreign Minister Getty Images

New Delhi, July 24: Iraq Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Eshaiker Al-Jafari, who is on a visit to India for four days, said Iraqi authorities were clueless about the 39 Indians that went missing in Iraq. The Iraqi Foreign Minister also said he isn’t sure if the missing Indian labourers are alive. “We don’t know if those 39 are dead or alive but all efforts are being made to trace them,” said Jafari.

Iraq Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Eshaiker Al-Jafari on Monday met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to expedite the search of 39 Indians that as per reports, were taken hostage by the ISIS in Mosul in 2014. Baghdad on Sunday said that in a high-level coordination with New Delhi efforts are being made to trace the 39 missing Indians. Earlier this month, Iraqi forces, after months of battle with ISIS, rooted out the terrorist organisation from the soil of Mosul.

Post this news, Swaraj stated that with the exoneration of Mosul from ISIS, New Delhi would take the process forward of rescuing the Indians. Delhi was earlier informed that 39 Indians were lodged in a prison in Badush. The Narendra Modi government has asked Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh to head to Iraq to dive deep into the matter. Since the abduction of Indian citizens in Iraq, Swaraj has repeatedly met and assured their families that the government was making endless efforts to locate their loved ones. Also Read: Search Operation Underway For 39 Missing Indians, Authorities Coordinating at High-Level: Iraq Embassy

Congress today lashed out at the Modi government over this matter. Karnataka MLA NA Haris said the Central government has miserably failed and wanted an answer from the government on what efforts were being made to locate the missing Indians. “The families of missing Indians are in pain and what is the net result of PM Modi’s Middle East visit,” said Haris.

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