Missing Indians in Mosul: Congress prepares privilege motion against Sushma

39 Indians mainly from Punjab were taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq's second largest city Mosul in 2014.

New Delhi: The search for the 39 missing Indian labourers who were kidnapped in Mosul three years ago is expected to gather momentum with the visit of Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who arrives in New Delhi on Monday on a five-day visit.

The Congress has said it will submit a privilege motion against Swaraj in the Lok Sabha for "misleading the nation, and families" of the kidnapped Indians.

Reffering to media reports, which said the jail where abducted Indians were said to be housed is in ruins, the main opposition slammed Swaraj for loss of credibility.

39 Indians mainly from Punjab were taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq's second largest city Mosul in 2014.

Though, Iraq envoy sad that they had no clue about the missing Indians, whether they are dead or alive, New Delhi considered them to be alive.

One of them, Harjit Masih from Gurdaspur, had managed to escape. He claimed to have witnessed the massacre of the other 39 Indians. But the government has rejected it.

On July 16, Eexternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said that information gathered by minister of state VK Singh during a recent visit to Iraq suggested the 39 Indians kidnapped in June 2014 were possibly being held in the Badush prison. She said she was hopeful of getting more information about the Indians when her Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim Al-Jaafari visits New Delhi on July 24.

Al-Jaafari's visit from July 24 to July 28 to India comes two weeks after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced liberation of Mosul, the second biggest city in his country, from the IS, which marked a major milestone for the Iraqi security forces.