Reacting to reports that the families of the Indian hostages, mostly from Punjab, were trying to locate their kin after the release of Mosul by Iraq from the ISIS forces, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday called external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and urged her to trace and facilitate their return.
In her response, Sushma Swaraj has assured Punjab chief minister that her ministry was making all-out efforts in the matter.
Assuring of all possible efforts by her ministry to bring back the Indians, who were construction workers taken into custody in 2014, Sushma said General VK Singh (retd) has been sent to Iraq to coordinate with the Iraqi government to facilitate the return of the Indians stuck there. She said she has also directed the Indian embassy to extend all help to the stranded Indians, a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office (CMO) disclosed.
Air India officials at the airports have also been instructed to facilitate their return, said Sushma, adding that her ministry has activated all available sources to trace the missing Indians, who were last heard of hiding in a church in Mosul.
Multiple channels have been activated to bring them back to India, the union minister informed Captain Amarinder, who said the state government would take all steps to enable them to get back to their homes once they return to their country.
{{/usCountry}}Multiple channels have been activated to bring them back to India, the union minister informed Captain Amarinder, who said the state government would take all steps to enable them to get back to their homes once they return to their country.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister said he was hopeful the 39 Indians would be back home soon, now that Mosul was no longer in the control of ISIS.