Jalandhar, June 8: Families of 39 persons, who went missing in Iraq three years ago, got a fresh ray of hope on Thursday with the government saying it knows the location of their relatives and is working to bring them back.
Meeting the relatives of Indians who had gone missing in Iraq after being held captive by the ISIS in June 2014, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assured them the safety of their kin.
“Today was the first time when the minister said the government knew the location of our missing wards. We have been clinging to hope for three years. The government is our only savior. Our hope was rekindled when Swaraj said the ministry was in touch with our missing kin through its sources and was working to rescue them. The minister also read out a letter from the source which said our family members were alive,” said Manish Kumar, whose brother Harish Kumar went missing.
He said family representatives of all missing persons, who hail from Punjab, Himachal and Bihar, came for the meeting in which Food Processing Minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also present.
Amritsar’s Seema Devi, whose husband Sonu Masih is missing, said the families were more enthused today because the government had itself called them for the meeting. “In the past, we used to seek meetings, but today the government called us,” she said.
The government reportedly told the families that their wards were safe and were being used for local work by their captors. The minister, however, said she could not share evidence regarding them or make their families speak to them. She said it was not possible yet because even the government was engaging with them through sources.
She added that the government would do its best to share evidence with the families as soon as possible.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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