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Missing Indians in Iraq: Is the search operation in Mosul actually going anywhere?

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DailyBiteJul 22, 2017 | 20:02

Missing Indians in Iraq: Is the search operation in Mosul actually going anywhere?

Barely a week after the Union minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj said that the 39 Indians missing in Iraq since 2014 might actually be alive and imprisoned, perhaps by ISIS terrorists, search operations have commenced with renewed zeal. But a team from India Today TV travelled all the way to Mosul, the Iraqi city - newly liberated from the clutches of the Islamic State - only to be disappointed.

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According to first-hand and exclusive reports from the ground prepared by India Today TV crew, the Indians lost in Mosul are still, well, lost. This, even though the “bastion of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reduced to a rubble”. Of course, in 2014, the leader of the fundamentalist global caliphate had used a sacred site in Mosul to declare himself the leader of his terror cult, as his guerillas overran the ancient city.

Mosul now is a sorry sight to behold, with historic shrines and buildings bombed to dust. Those rummaging the ruins, however, fail to give out any whereabouts of the missing Indians.

There’s no sign of the missing Indians in the restive region that is now deemed free, and under the Iraqi forces’ authority. India Today’s crew set out for Mosul and their findings are not very encouraging. In fact, Iraq’s ambassador to India Fakhri H al-Hassa told India Today that there’s no confirmation on the 39 missing Indians, even though the liberated Mosul has been thoroughly searched and combed.

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There’s no sign of the missing Indians in the restive region that is now deemed free, and under the Iraqi forces’ authority. Photo: Reuters

Ambassador al-Hassa said: “So far, we don't have any confirmed information about their whereabouts or what happened to them. There were two delegations from India that went there. Last one was headed by Minister of State for External Affairs (V K Singh). They have some promises and hope that they might be there but it's only hope frankly (sic). But, are they sure? I haven't heard from them and I haven't heard from Iraq also on any confirmed information.”

But Union minister Swaraj has a different take. "The day the Iraqi PM declared Mosul is liberated from ISIS, I asked (minister of state) VK Singh to go to Erbil," Sushma Swaraj had said.

"Sources there told VK Singh that the missing Indians are most probably in a jail in Badush where fighting is still going on".

According to India Today reports, neither is there any clarity of al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts, who was incidentally declared dead in a Russian airstrike some days back, nor is there indication that the Indians abducted are safe, or indeed alive. In Ebril, a city near Mosul, Red Crescent’s Hawre Ihsan Sadiq told India Today that he had no information about the missing Indians. In fact, the Badush prison where they were held initially has been reduced to rubble, from the airstrikes, but India Today didn’t find any sign of our kidnapped citizens.

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India Today's report from Mosul suggests the picture isn’t as hopeful as the Union minister seems to suggest.

However, search operations have commenced with a renewed vigour, and the BJP national president Amit Shah has dispatched a response team in the wake of the India Today ground report. This is a source of hope and indeed a silver lining that the government hasn’t left those 39 Indian citizens in the lurch, despite three years having passed since we least heard from them.

As per India Today reports, the families of the missing Indians are likely to come to Delhi, demanding answers from the Union government.

Political tug of war

Of course, the report has caused a veritable tug of war between the Centre and the Opposition parties. While MoS external affairs VK Singh has said that Iraq’s national security advisor is in the loop and would be feeding information to Indian agencies, no confirmation has come in as yet.

Congress leaders have been quick to blame the government for the lack of results. Kapil Sibal has said that Sushma Swaraj couldn’t be giving misinformation in Parliament in case the Indians were actually not traced by our agencies.

“This is serious if the MEA tells this in parliament and briefs families but if it is not true. We cannot say that the government of India was misleading the families and Parliament. The facts should just be verified. Where did VK Singh get this information? The MEA should not give out information if they don't have their facts right.”

Sibal added:

“The information given by the External Affairs Minister in Parliament is misleading. We should be concerned about whether they are alive or where they are. If the prison is not there, we should look into whether the MEA verified the information.”

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has said that an all-party delegation led by MoS for external affairs VK Singh should go to Iraq in a fact-finding mission. He’s also filing a privilege motion in Parliament against Swaraj for “lying to the nation and playing with sentiments of families of 39 Indians”.

It is unfortunate that the political leaders are igniting sentiments and playing with the emotions of the victims’ family members. Be it peddling supposedly half-baked information, or adding fuel to the fire of this sorry saga of terrorism cum kidnapping of our fellow citizens, it’s a sorry development.

India Today and DailyO can only hope that the 39 missing citizens are found and return to their beloved family members.

Also read: Why a harassed Indian lesbian couple going missing does not make news

Last updated: March 20, 2018 | 14:34
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