Iraq: Don’t know if 39 abducted Indians are alive

New Delhi: Visiting Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said on Monday that his government does not know the fate of the 39 Indians who were abducted by terror group ISIS in 2014 in Mosul.

“We’re not 100 per cent sure whether they’re alive or not, we don’t know. We are going to do our best, but till now we cannot say anything about their fate,” he was quoted as telling TV channels and news agencies.

The Iraqi minister, who began a five-day visit to India on Monday, met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj amid mounting anxiety among families of the 39 missing Indians, most of whom are from Punjab.

Meanwhile, family members of the missing Indians expressed pain over the Iraqi minister’s failure to bring any information on them.

“We feel very disappointed. We heard the Iraqi minister say that he does not know whether the 39 missing Indians were dead or alive,” said Chandigarh resident Davinder, whose elder brother Gobinder is among the missing.

Initially, the Indian government was informed that the 39 Indians could be in a prison in Badush. However, media reports later said that the prison had been completely destroyed.

In the absence of any confirmation, the Indian government has so far been dismissing claims from some quarters that the ISIS had executed the abducted Indians.

Minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh visited Erbil in nothern Iraq earlier this month after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq.

After his return, Ms Swaraj had reportedly told the families of the abducted Indians that they could be in Badush jail.

Ms Swaraj had also recently assured Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh that the Indian government is “making all-out efforts to trace and facilitate return of the 39 Indians”.