Iraq Clueless About Missing Indians In Mosul
In a meeting on Tuesday (25 July) with Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj , her Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari said that Iraq has no substantial evidence about the Indians missing from Mosul but assured India that Iraq is making their best efforts to find out.
It was speculated before al-Jaafari’s visit that he would divulge some important information about the whereabouts of the missing Indians. However the mystery remains on the fate of the 39 abducted Indians in Mosul.
“We don't know whether they are dead or alive. We are equally concerned. There is no substantial evidence whether they are alive or not. We are making the best efforts," the Iraqi foreign minister told reporters about the Indians abducted in Mosul,” said al-Jaafari.
Al-Jaafari and Swarj discussed the fate of the abducted Indians during extensive talks in their meeting today at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan on Monday (24 July). In their talks they discussed bilateral ties over education, trade, energy and healthcare, official sources said. Swaraj is likely to make a detailed statement in Parliament on Tuesday (25 July) about her meeting with al-Jaafari.
The Iraqi foreign minister also met Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
In a meeting with the relatives of the abducted Indians last week, Swaraj had said they might be languishing in a jail in Badush in northwest of Mosul where fighting was going on. However, a media report from Badush on Friday said the jail is now an abandoned structure and has been unoccupied for weeks.
India had requested Iraq to locate the 39 missing Indians, mostly from Punjab, after Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from ISIS.
Al-Jaafari began his five day visit to India today, almost two weeks after Mosul was liberated from Iraqi forces. He will also visit Mumbai as a part of his visit to India.
The bilateral trade between India and Iraq despite the trouble of the Caliphate on Iraqi soil in 2016-17 was nearly $13 billion. Iraq contributes significantly to India's energy security and is the second largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2016-17 with a total volume of over 37 MMT.
