No ‘concrete proof’ on death of 39 abducted Indians says Swaraj

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Rajya Sabha that she had no “concrete proof” on whether the 39 Indians, abducted in Iraq three years ago, were “dead or alive.”

The Minister’s response came amid attacks from the Opposition that she was misleading Parliament, asking her to disclose the “sources” who had been telling her that the Indians were alive.

She, however, refused to disclose the identity of the sources, citing “diplomatic confidentiality.” Ms Swaraj also said the Congress was using the issue as a political agenda and there was a difference between “information and proof.”

Ms Swaraj retorted that the sources who gave the government the confidence of not abandoning the search for the abducted Indians include a “head of state and a foreign minister of another country.”

Making a statement in response to a Zero Hour mention on the issue raised by Pratap Singh Bajwa (Congress) on July 19, Ms. Swaraj vehemently denied that she had ever misled Parliament or the country on the fate of the abducted persons.