{"id":10507,"date":"2018-03-22T14:54:51","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T09:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=10507"},"modified":"2018-03-22T14:54:51","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T09:24:51","slug":"did-sushma-swaraj-mea-mislead-families-of-39-indians-who-went-missing-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/did-sushma-swaraj-mea-mislead-families-of-39-indians-who-went-missing-in-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Sushma Swaraj, MEA mislead families of 39 Indians who went missing in Iraq?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe had been saying that we neither have the evidence of them being alive nor the evidence of them being dead. We maintained this in 2014 and 2017. We did not keep anyone in dark. We gave no <\/em>false hopes<\/em><\/strong> to anyone\u201d<\/em> said External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj when faced with criticism about raising false hopes over the past four years that the 39 missing Indians in Iraq were alive and safe. Did the government maintain a non-committal stand about the 39 missing Indians all these years? Did they raise no false hopes?<\/p>\n

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We had been saying that we neither have the evidence of them being alive nor the evidence of them being dead. We maintained this in 2014 and 2017. We did not keep anyone in dark. We gave no false hopes to anyone: EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com\/ZgAK1ePi9h<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The statements made by the EAM have to be looked at in the context of the eye witness account of the lone survivor, Harjit Masih, who had claimed that the remaining 39 were shot dead within days of being abducted. It is understandable that the government does not want to confirm the deaths without concrete evidence but did the government reassure the families that their loved ones were safe, when in fact there was no concrete evidence to indicate that either.<\/p>\n

According to Harjit Masih<\/a>, he and 39 others were kidnapped on June 11th<\/sup> 2014. Four days later they were asked to kneel down and shot by the militants. Masih managed to survive and escape and has maintained since then that there were no other survivors.<\/p>\n

Let us look at the timeline of important events and the statements made by External Affairs Minister over the last four years.<\/p>\n

June 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 10th<\/sup>, ISIS insurgents seized control of the northern city of Mosul. There was wide scale panic with reports of killing and abduction of foreigners. Evacuation of Indians in the conflict zone started soon thereafter. On June 18th<\/sup>, Amid evacuation of Indians from crisis-hit Iraq, news broke about 40 Indian construction workers missing<\/a> and possibly abducted in Mosul, Iraq by suspected ISIS rebels.<\/p>\n

External Affairs Ministry confirmed<\/a> in a media briefing that 40 Indians who had gone missing in Iraq had been kidnapped.\u00a0In a media briefing<\/a>, MEA spokesperson said that \u201cWe have been informed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry that they also have been able to determine the location where these abducted Indian nationals are being held captive with workers of a few other nationalities.<\/em>\u201d A week later on June 25th, in another media briefing, the MEA spokesperson confirmed<\/a> that \u201cthey remain in captivity but have not been hurt or harmed.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n

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Govt says that 40 #Indian<\/a> nationals kidnapped in violence hit #Iraqi<\/a> city of #Mosul<\/a> are safe.<\/p>\n

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 20, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with the family members of the missing Indians on several occasions to reassure them.<\/p>\n

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Reassurance! Minister @SushmaSwaraj<\/a> meets families of Indians abducted in Iraq & assures them of all assistance. pic.twitter.com\/V1HaUZ2v90<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) June 19, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aug 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Unharmed in conflict zone! Information from conflict zone in Iraq that Indians in custody remain unharmed as of Aug 12th despite turmoil.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) August 14, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nov 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five months from the date of abduction, MEA confirmed that the kidnapped Indians \u201cremained in captivity\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Recent contacts indicate that Indians in Iraq remain in captivity. Earnest efforts continue – Minister @SushmaSwaraj<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MZPzlnLvsN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 4, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sushma Swaraj made a statement in Rajya Sabha about the 39 missing Indians. Based on her sources, she refuted the stories in the media about the claims of Harjit Masih and the some Bangladeshi nationals interviewed by the media.<\/p>\n

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Not 1st time such a news story carried in media – Minister @SushmaSwaraj<\/a> clarifies in Lok Sabha on Indians in Iraqhttp:\/\/t.co\/SZGotZ37dm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 28, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n