M A I N   N E W S

special to the tribune
shyam bhatia in baghdad
Trying hard to free 39 Mosul hostages: Govt

As the fifth special flight prepares to take off from Iraq carrying an estimated 225 Indian passengers, New Delhi’s special envoy Suresh Reddy on Wednesday said the 39 hostages, mostly from Punjab, being held in Mosul were safe.

In an exclusive interview to The Tribune, Reddy said, “All 39 are safe, we’re in touch with a lot of people. We’ve not left a single channel untouched. We want to get them out...we want them to join their families at the earliest and we are in touch with all channels possible.”

More than 30 of the hostages are from Punjab with another three from Kolkata and two from Bihar. Speaking from the Indian ambassador’s residence in Baghdad, Reddy said the chartered Iraqi Airways flight is the fifth special aircraft deployed to carry Indian workers back home against the backdrop of the looming civil conflict in Iraq.

One Air India aircraft has been chartered for this purpose, but the remaining have been Iraqi Airways planes operating out of the cities of Basra, Najaf and Irbil. The evacuation of the workers has been carried out in close co-ordination with some 30 officials sent out from New Delhi and based in Najaf, Karbala, Basra and Baghdad.

Their work, however, has been hampered by a number of local problems, including a 10-day curfew in Karbala and other issues such as cancelled or expired visas. In some instances, Iraqi officials at the airports refused to let the workers leave the country and were only persuaded to change their minds after intensive last-minute negotiations.

So far the exit permits of some 2,500 workers have been finalised with another 300-500 exit permits still being scrutinised. But the initial panic reactions from last week are slowly starting to subside.

Reddy said the Indian embassy is still receiving a handful of calls every day, between five and six, from those making inquires about leaving. But this represents a massive reduction from a week ago. The overwhelming majority of the 20,000 Indians, 15,000 in Kurdistan and 5,000 in other parts of the country, seem intent on staying put.

After the initial panic, Reddy explained, some still want to go home for family reasons, others see the advantages of a free ticket to get them back. Many others have now concluded that Iraq is relatively safe.

“I’m not running an option shop, but our approach is we will support you if you want to go”, he added. Meanwhile, India remains a popular destination for many Iraqis with the Indian embassy issuing an estimated 250 visas every day. “Our doors are open for Iraqis”, Reddy said.

Special flight coming

* Carrying an estimated 225 Indian passengers, a special flight is set to take off from Iraq

* So far the exit permits of around 2,500 workers have been finalised while another 300-500 permits were still being scrutinised, said New Delhi’s special envoy to Iraq Suresh Reddy