With Mosul now liberated, India has stepped up efforts to locate its 39 nationals who have been missing since June 2014 after the ISIS had laid siege to the city in Iraq.
The Indian Government on Monday dispatched Minister of State for External Affairs General (retired) VK Singh to Erbil to meet his Iraqi counterpart and seek help to locate the missing Indians. In addition, the Indian Ambassador to Iraq and Consul General in Erbil have been instructed to continue their efforts to locate the Indians.
Ministry of External affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay on Monday termed liberation of Mosul as an important milestone in the global war on terror.
“As soon as the announcement of liberation of Mosul was made by the Prime Minister of Iraq, the Government activated various channels for locating those Indians. Minister of State for External Affairs General (retired) VK Singh is to travel to Erbil later today. The Ambassador of India to Iraq and our Consul General in Erbil have been instructed to continue their efforts to locate them on priority. Iraqi authorities have conveyed that all cooperation would be extended in this regard and instructions have been issued by them to all relevant Iraqi agencies for the same,” Baglay said.
With absolutely no news of these 39 Indians for last three years, there were apprehensions that they might have been killed by the ISIS when they captured Mosul. However, the Indian Government has maintained that it has information from various sources that they are alive. There were also reports that they were being used as labourers by ISIS
terrorists.
Harjit Masih, the lone survivor out of the 40 Indians abducted, claimed that he had witnessed his 39 Indian companions being shot dead by the ISIS. Masih added he escaped after pretending to be dead.