With no confirmation until late tonight of a Kenyan government claim that the three Indians and four others taken hostage in Iraq had been released, celebrations at home died down as quickly as they had begun. To add to the confusion, there were also unconfirmed reports that Sheikh Hisam Al Dulaimi, the Iraqi tribal leader who had been playing go-between, had pulled out of the negotiations.In short, the final phase of negotiations for the release of the seven hostages is proving to be extremely tough and tricky.Although the Kuwait and Gulf Link (KGL) transport company, employer of the hostages, indicated that that the men could be freed early, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed, who heads Delhi’s Crisis Management Group, said the exact situation would be known only tomorrow. The Government, Ahamed said, was waiting to hear from the Indian missions in Baghdad and Kuwait. Earlier this evening, a statement in Nairobi by the Kenyan Foreign Minister — it was flashed by TV channels — led to celebrations at homes of the hostages. The minister was quoted as saying that the hostages — these include three Kenyans and an Egyptian — had been released and were on their way to Kuwait. But Dulaimi denied this. He was quoted as saying that the negotiations were still underway over the issue of ‘‘compensation to Fallujah victims.’’ The KGL expressed ‘‘surprise’’ over the statement as Dulaimi, earlier in the day, told an Arab television network that this demand had been waived. ‘‘We are not the US government or the United Nations that we can compensate these victims. Sheikh Dulaimi had given a statement in the morning that this demand had been waived. So we are surprised by what he has said now,’’ KGL spokesperson Rana Abu Zaineh told The Indian Express from Kuwait. She also denied the statement of the Kenyan Foreign Minister, saying it was ‘‘false’’ and that the hostages were still with their Iraqi captors. India, on the other hand, maintained that it had received no confirmation on the release of the three Indians, Antaryami, Sukhdev Singh and Tilakraj. ‘‘I wish to convey that as of now we have no confirmation of their release. Neither our Embassy in Baghdad nor our Embassy in Kuwait has been able to confirm this and I would appeal to the media to please check with the Crisis Management Group before putting out such news,’’ said Ahamed. He claimed that the negotiations were ‘‘progressing well’’ and in a ‘‘positive direction.’’ Taking into account some of the positive statements from KGL, Ahamed said the government was hopeful that the captors would extend the deadline and ultimately free the hostages. Earlier in the day, he appealed to the abductors that the deadline should be removed so that the families of the hostages could be reassured. While no evidence had been provided by the Iraqi group to KGL on the well being of the seven hostages, Zaineh said the company’s representative at the talks, Saleh Mehdi, had been reassured by Dulaimi that the hostages were in good health and under good care. ‘‘As the moment, we are just taking Sheikh Al Dulaimi’s word for it.’’ The company has conveyed to Dulaimi that the company does not intend to have any operations in Iraq. ‘‘We have no presence here. All we do is operate trucks for those who hire us. We have closed all our services to Iraq after this crisis began.’’ She said the company was hopeful that news of the release of all hostages would arrive shortly. ‘‘It can be any moment now. We are very hopeful. But the status is that the negotiations are still on.’’ Meanwhile, India has asked all its missions in the Gulf, particularly in Iraq, to provide all assistance to Indians keen on returning home. ‘‘I wish to reiterate this especially in view of the serious security situation which continues to prevail in Iraq,’’ said Ahamed.
