New Delhi:
The 40 Indian who were kidnapped in Iraq about a fortnight ago are "unharmed as of now," foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said today.
"There is no safety in captivity. That said, we're everyday trying to obtain information and corroborate information. I can tell you they remain unharmed as of now," he said in response to queries about the well-being of the Indians who have been held hostage by Sunni insurgents.
The Indians, all construction workers, were kidnapped near Mosul, which fell to Sunni insurgents on June 10. One of them later escaped. The government has said it is aware of the location of the kidnapped Indians, but it is not clear whether they have been captured by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS) or some other group.
The MEA spokesperson told reporters that the government had been able to successfully evacuate 17 of the 120 Indians stranded in the "conflict zone." There are, according to him, some 10,000 Indian nationals living in areas beyond the conflict zone. "They are in no threat of the conflict zone, however there are issues related to their status, documents and visa requirements," Mr Akbaruddin said.
The control room set up by the ministry in the Indian capital for the benefit of the Indians working in Iraq, the spokesperson pointed out, had received 300 requests for assistance of various sorts. "Of these about 100 relate to evacuation," he observed.
The Indian government was in constant touch with the companies the Indian were working for in Iraq. "We remain engaged with a variety of companies - 12 by my record. We would continue to assist everyone who would want to return," the MEA spokesperson assured.
The safety of the Indian kidnapped in Mosul remains one of the top-most concerns of the Centre. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a high-level meeting.
On Thursday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had written to Mr Modi urging "all possible diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of the Indians."