Twice bitten, KGL says a cautious yes

Sources said negotiators from both sides are expected to meet late tonight to work out the release. Though India’s crisis management group (CMG) head E Ahamed was away, South Block held formal discussions on the matter.

KGL, on the other hand, is said to be exercising ‘‘extreme caution’’ given the last-minute setback on two earlier occasions. The recent developments come after a two-week lull in negotiations.

Over a month after the three Indian truck drivers were taken hostage along with four others who include three Kenyans and an Egyptian, the abductors for the first time announced their willingness to release them if KGL, their employer, shut its operations in Iraq.

Ahamed, who was in Colombo when this video was broadcast on Al-Arabiya, today reached Calicut where he welcomed KGL’s decision to respond positively to the demand. He hoped that the matter would be resolved now.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Kuwait soon after she made the announcement on Al-Arabiya today, KGL spokesperson Rana Abu-Zaineh said the company does not have any operations in Iraq at the moment. ‘‘We didn’t need to withdraw at this stage because we simply don’t have a presence there.’’

Earlier in the day, Zaineh welcomed the abductors’ statement. ‘‘So the company has agreed to stop its operations in Iraq and would like to say that it has no presence currently in Iraq,’’ she said.

While the company now says that it is focussed on wrapping up the issue, it was silent on the joint venture company it had floated last October in Iraq. According to its 2003 annual report, KGL has 63 per cent equity in a JV it has formed with a group of other companies to ‘‘extract, produce and sell aggregates in Iraq.’’ When asked about this, Zaineh declined to comment.

KGL has operating locations in Kuwait, UAE and Iraq, with representative branches in other countries. KGL sources, however, said the company will not lose much business by stopping operations in Iraq.

Over the past one year, KGL has secured contracts which include a cleaning-up operation for the Coalition Provisional Authority and another for the UN to transport food and supplies.