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Captive Indians in Iraq are Safe: Govt
Ashok Tueja/Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

270 Indians evacuated from Libya Nay Pyi Taw: As many as 270 Indians were on Saturday evacuated from trouble-torn Libya's Benghazi city where extremists have tightened their grip after weeks of violence. The Indians were being moved out of Benghazi by a ship to Malta from where they will be taken to India by a special flight, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. pti

New Delhi/Chandigarh, August 9
Even as the families of the 41 kidnapped Indians in Iraq are in a state of panic following US air strikes, Indian Embassy officials claim the youths were safe but could not be contacted.

The Punjab Government, which had set up a helpline and was knocking on the doors of the Central Government, has not made any fresh effort in the past two days to reassure the families.

Kamaljeet Kaur of Gurdaspur said the government had failed to bring the youths back. There has not been any assurance. “Our sons went abroad as the fovernemnt could not give them employment. We expect our government to at least find the youths and bring them home safe,” she said.

An Indian official from Baghdad said over phone that 41 Indian construction workers in the captivity of Sunni militants in Mosul town of Iraq were safe and the government was making efforts to secure their release.

These workers have been in captivity for about two months now. There were expectations that the workers would be released on Eid.

The official said nearly 5,000 Indian nationals have already left for the country.