External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday assured the Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh that her ministry was making all-out efforts to trace and facilitate the return of the 39 Indians, mostly from Punjab, who had been held hostage in Mosul since 2014.
Reacting to reports that the families of the Indian hostages were trying to locate their kin after the release of Mosul by Iraq from the ISIS forces, Capt Amarinder called up Swaraj on Monday afternoon to seek her active intervention in the matter.
In his telephonic conversation with the Union minister, the CM said the families of the hostages were keenly awaiting the return of their kin following Iraq’s victory over ISIS in Mosul and needed the Central government’s support in bringing back their family members.
Assuring of all possible efforts by her ministry to bring back the Indians, who were construction workers taken into custody in 2014, Swaraj said Union minister general (retired) VK Singh had been sent to Iraq to coordinate with the Iraqi government to facilitate the return of the Indians stuck there.
She said she had also directed the Indian embassy to extend all help to the stranded Indians, a spokesperson of the CM's office disclosed.
Air India officials at the airports had also been instructed to facilitate their return, said Swaraj, adding that her ministry had activated all available sources to trace the missing Indians, who were last heard of hiding in a church in Mosul.
Multiple channels have been activated to bring them back to India, the Union minister informed Capt Amarinder, who said the state government would take all steps to enable them to get back to their homes once they return to their country.
The CM said he was hopeful the 39 Indians would be back home soon, now that Mosul was no longer in the control of ISIS.