Mosul: 39 Indians missing

India on Monday welcomed the liberation of Mosul in Iraq from Islamic State and called it an important milestone in the global war on terror. However, the fate accompli of 39 Indians reportedly missing in Mosul is not yet clear.

The hostages

In June 2014, the Islamic State (IS) had captured several towns and had taken civilians (especially foreign nationals and minorities) as hostages. In Mosul, 40 Indian construction workers, mainly from Punjab, was captured, and one person managed to escape and recounted the hardships that he underwent. The whereabouts of the 39 is unclear. The government has credible intelligence that the hostages are alive, while media reports have stated that they have been executed.

Analysis

Families from Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and Bihar missing in Iraq have so far met Ms Swaraj at least eleven times. On June 8, Ms Swaraj herself reached out to them in New Delhi.

The Indian government last month had claimed that they had reliable information about the location of the workers.

A creditable source has confirmed the name of a church in Mosul city where 25 Punjabi looking men were spotted.

The information had been conveyed to Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi forces were asked to be careful not to attack the area where the Indians were supposedly located.

The Indian government has not been able to so far get conclusive proof that the hostages are alives.

Now as pro-government forces in Iraq prepare to take control of Mosul, the fate of the 39 missing Indians remain unclear.

Assessment

Our assessment is that, hostage crises are difficult to resolve especially when countries are coming out of a war. It will be extremely important for India to keep pushing for the safe custody of the 39 prisoners. Understandably the government of Iraq is burdened by many challenges and the cause of the Indians must not be lost in the myriads of other problem they face.