External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, on Sunday, insisted that the 39 Indians that were kidnapped by ISIS in Iraq way back in June 2014, are still alive. Addressing the media at her annual press conference, Swaraj dismissed the reports that the Indians have been killed, insisting that the efforts to trace them are on.
Have Taken the Responsibility to Trace the Missing Indians: Swaraj
The Indians were abducted by ISIS militants from Mosul in Iraq.
We do not have any proof of the abducted Indians being killed other than the statement of Harjit Masih.Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Affairs Minister
Masih was among the Indians who were abducted but managed to flee from the captivity.
Swaraj has questioned his claims that his fellow Indians have been killed. She said that two heads of state in Gulf region told her, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee that the Indians are alive.
I am not giving any false assurance. If I had confirmation that they were killed, then definitely, I would have sought apology from their families with folded hands and said they were killed. Their killing in such a situation in Mosul in Iraq would not have been blamed on me. When I say they are alive, I have taken on myself a major responsibility of tracing them.Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Affairs Minister
Swaraj added that it was her responsibility to find those Indians and she will not shy away from it.
Earlier, Masih had told the The Quint that while he managed to survive, the other 39 fellow Indians were killed. He returned to India on July 2014 with some horrifying tales about the abduction. Indian government and the families of the 39 abducted Indians have refused to believe his version of story and called him a liar.
(With inputs from PTI)