Declaring ISIS hostages dead without proof is sin, says Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: There is no concrete evidence to conclude that the 39 Indians abducted from Mosul, Iraq, three years ago have been killed, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday in Parliament, asserting that she “will not commit the sin” of declaring them dead without any proof. Ms Swaraj said one person, Harjit Masih, who was also abducted along with the 39 others but had managed to escape, had said the captives were killed. However, six sources, including the President of a Gulf country and a foreign minister of another West Asian country, had told the government that they are alive, Ms Swaraj said.

“There were contradictions in Masih’s version. That is why I told our embassy to find out details about them,” she said. “This file will not close till there is proof that the 39 Indians are dead,” she added, pointing out that countries such as Vietnam and the US still look for their soldiers who went missing in wars several decades ago. Ms Swaraj also said that she had told visiting Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari that she would not accept anything on the issue without “proof”, and requested him to continue the search for them.

The Indian labourers were taken hostage by ISIS when it overran the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014. They were trying to leave the besieged city when they were abducted.

India had requested Iraq to locate the missing Indians after Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from ISIS this month.

In a strong statement in the Lok Sabha, Ms Swaraj rejected allegations that she misled the country on the issue and said that the government would continue its efforts to trace the captives until it gets evidence of their death.

“We will continue our efforts to trace them till the time we get evidence that they are dead, as declaring them dead without proof will be a sin and I will not commit that sin,” Ms Swaraj said.

The external affairs minister also cited an example of when the Congress government declaring a soldier as a martyr in the 1971 war, and after 45 years, it was found that he was in a jail in Pakistan. “If someone feels they are dead, then you are free to go to the families. But, if anyone of them (hostages) comes back, then it will be your responsibility. Similarly, their families are free to carry out ardas (prayers by families after the death of a person), but it will be their responsibility if someone comes back,” Ms Swaraj said.

Her statements came two days after the Iraqi foreign minister said here that there was no “substantial evidence” on whether the Indians are alive or dead, and confirmed that the prison at Badush, their last known location, has been demolished by ISIS.

Ms Swaraj also asserted that she had never said that the Indians were currently in the Badush jail, and that as per information, they were taken to Badush in early 2016.

Referring to the demolition of the Badush jail, she said she had suggested to the Iraqi foreign minister to look for the jail warden and find out details from him about the Indians. She said that even a list of prisoners would help.

“Our questions are: If the jail was demolished, then were the Indians there and were the inmates killed? If they were killed, where are the bodies...? Is there any blood trail?” she said.

Ms Swaraj said she met the family members of the abducted Indians, mostly from Punjab, 12 times and had told them that there was no proof to conclude that their loved ones were dead.

The external affairs minister said she had never misled Parliament or the families of the abducted Indians. “I have never misled. I want to ask the Opposition what benefit I will get by misleading. What benefit will my government get by misleading the people on the issue?” she asked.

The government, Ms Swaraj said, has been in touch with countries of the region, including Turkey, which can help India in the case.