Indians in Kuwait safe, says envoy

Kuwait's Ambassador to India Abdullah Al-Murad today said his country did not hope the ongoing campaign against Iraq would last beyond a mon...

Kuwait’s Ambassador to India Abdullah Al-Murad today said his country did not hope the ongoing campaign against Iraq would last beyond a month. At the pace with which the US-led forces were moving, he added, Iraq and Kuwait might be able to open diplomatic missions in each other’s countries soon.

Al-Murad, in no uncertain terms, blamed Iraq for the entry of foreign troops into the region. According to him, Saddam Hussein, by occupying Kuwait more than a decade ago, was responsible for the US intervention.

On whether Saddam had begun to lean towards Muslim fundamentalists to improve his position both domestically and within the Arab world, he said: ‘‘He was secular when he was strong. Today he is neither secular nor Islamist.’’

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The Kuwaiti Ambassador was clear that the people of Iraq had been subjugated by an unjust administration and a dictator. ‘‘The Americans are fighting a war that will liberate the people of Iraq and establish a government that would have peaceful relations with its neighbours.’’

According to him, Indians in Kuwait were safe and barring around 4,000, most of them have stayed back there. The Indians were members of civil defence committees and had undertaken responsibilities just like regular citizens of Kuwait, he added.

Flight operations, Al-Murad said, would continue as usual and the airport would remain open. However, he added the initial rush out of Kuwait seems to have stemmed as most flights are now going empty.

On the assertions by the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid to hold a demonstration in front of the Kuwait Embassy in protest against the US-led attack, Embassy officials said the Imam was giving vent to anger he has harboured with Kuwait for long.

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It is learnt that the Imam had been refused visa by Kuwait in the past for making collections there.

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