MEA: Info about location of abducted Indians provided by Iraq govt

By sagarmedia on June 19, 2014 | Edit

Jun 19, The External Affairs Ministry has said Iraqi government has provided information about the location of the abducted 40 Indian workers. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi this evening, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said, Indian Embassy in Baghdad has been persistently following the matter with the Iraqi authorities. Mr Akbaruddin said, the government is giving highest priority to the safety and security of the Indians there. Yesterday, India had confirmed that 40 Indians were kidnapped in violence-hit Iraq city of Mosul. Replying to a question, Mr Akbaruddin said, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also talked to Chief Minister of Punjab as most of the abducted workers are from Punjab. The Spokesman reiterated that New Delhi is ready to work with any organisation or individual who is willing to assist in this difficult situation. Earlier, in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said all efforts are underway to rescue Indian nationals kidnapped in Iraq. She told reporters in New Delhi that she is personally supervising the rescue efforts. Ms Swaraj assured the relatives of the kidnapped people that the government will leave no stone unturned to rescue them. Meanwhile, in Punjab, more than 50 families have approached the state government and provided details of their relatives stuck in Iraq. Punjab Government has set up a control room at Chandigarh with telephone numbers 0172-2740397 and 0172-2740035 besides a fax number 0172-2740936. A Punjab Government spokesman said in Chandigarh that the moment control room numbers were flashed on the TV channels, the two telephone lines of the civil control room were flooded with calls from anxious relatives. Deputy Commissioners of various districts are approaching the families of those who are in Iraq. Haryana Government has also set up a control room in Chandigarh with telephone number 0172-5059197 to get any information from people about their relatives in Iraq. A senior officer of Haryana Government said in Chandigarh that government has got details of 20 persons of Haryana who are in Iraq but none of them is in the list o