New Delhi – External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said to the families of 39 Punjabis held hostages in war-torn Iraq last June that there was no proof of them being “dead or alive”.
However, she said the government, on the assumption that they were alive was making efforts to secure their release. After her sixth meeting in the last nine months with the relatives of the 39 Indians, Swaraj said she had conveyed to these families that the government had spoken to every country and individual who could help in securing their release.
“Every time we meet, we brief them about the efforts being made by the government. There is no proof, as I have said earlier also that, whether they are dead or alive. But in the efforts we are making, our sources tell us that they have not been killed. “And with this belief we are continuing with our efforts to secure their release. Today also I briefed them about the efforts made by the government from the last time they met me and they returned satisfied,” Swaraj said.
“We are trying our level best, we have talked to every country and every individual who could help us,” she said.
Source — PTI