New Delhi: In the wake of media reports from Iraq that the Badush prison — where the Indian government felt that 39 Indians kidnapped by the ISIS in 2014 could have been jailed — there has been completely destroyed, the Opposition parties could put the Centre on the mat in Parliament on Monday.
Sources said some Congress MPs could move a privilege motion against external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, some reports indicated. Ms Swaraj will also discuss the matter on whereabouts of the 39 Indians with visiting Iraqi foreign minister Dr Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who will begin a five-day visit to India from Monday.
The Indian government has been dismissing claims from some quarters that the ISIS had executed most of these Indians, with the government maintaining consistently that it has not received any confirmation from any of its sources in West Asia that these Indians are not alive.
Ms Swaraj had reportedly told the families of the 39 Indians recently that these Indians could be in the Badush jail. Badush is a village reportedly 31km away from Mosul. Terror group ISIS, which is on the run in Iraq, had reportedly massacred more than 650 Shia prisoners at Badush in June 2014.
The Indians, who were construction workers mostly from Punjab, had been abducted in 2014.
Minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh had last week travelled to Erbil in northern Iraq after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and its retreat from Mosul, when India activated diplomatic channels for information on the 39 Indians. Iraq has promised all help to locate the missing Indians. Ms Swaraj had also recently assured Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh that the Indian government is “making all-out efforts to trace and facilitate return of 39 Indians, who have been held hostage in the Iraqi city of Mosul”.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) had recently said, “The liberation of Mosul from ISIS is an important milestone in the global war on terror, and India welcomes it.” The MEA had added, “As soon as the announcement of liberation of Mosul was made by the Prime Minister of Iraq, the government activated various channels for locating those Indians.”
The Ambassador of India to Iraq and our Consul General in Erbil has been instructed to continue the efforts to locate them on priority. Iraqi authorities have conveyed that all cooperation would be extended in this regard and instructions have been issued by them to all relevant Iraqi agencies for the same.”
