Journalism of Courage
As efforts are on to secure the release of 39 Indians in “captivity” in Iraq, India on Monday said the information flow from the strife-torn country was “improving” and officials were getting in touch with various “players” in the country. It is learnt that Indian diplomats have got in touch with various factions across the political spectrum, religious leaders and individuals, including former army officials. However, they have not been able to establish contact with the captors of the 39 Indians.
About 40 Indians were abducted from Mosul. Later, one of them managed to flee and shared details about the captors to the Indian authorities. While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not spelt out the identity of the abductors, it is learnt that the Sunni militant group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is behind the incident.
“On the diplomatic front, our efforts are continuing both in Iraq and outside. Our initiatives are gaining impetus. We are proceeding systematically and carefully. Various doors are opening now; these are primarily in Iraq at various levels, all of which are significant. Our information flow has improved providing us channels to obtain, corroborate and confirm information,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
The MEA also refused to confirm reports of an Indian dying of heart attack in south Iraq. “I have checked with our mission about possibility of an Indian worker in southern Iraq who may have succumbed to a heart attack… (but) they had not yet got confirmation from the concerned company,” Akbaruddin said.
MEA Control room flooded with calls
The MEA’s newly set-up control room in Delhi has been flooded with over 300 phone calls. Over 100 requests were made by families for evacuation, and another 100 from families who said their relatives cannot be traced in Iraq.
The remaining were general enquiries about the security situation in Iraq.
MEA spokesperson said the Indian embassy in Baghdad is also in touch with about 12 major companies in Iraq, who employ bulk of the 10,000 Indians in that country.
At present, at least 103 Indians are in the conflict zone, including 47 nurses and 39 Indians in captivity.
