New Delhi, August 3
The release of the Indian hostages in Iraq may take a couple of days more as the third-party negotiations between the captors and the Kuwaiti
company KGL did not make much headway in the past 24 hours, top government sources told The Tribune tonight.
The talks remained deadlocked on a couple of issues, including the question of “compensation”, sources said.
However, the captors are understood to have told M/s KGL that the hostages were safe and would not be harmed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was kept informed about the latest situation on the hostage crisis front throughout the day even as nothing dramatic happened.
The talks between Iraqi tribal leader Sheikh Al-Dulaimi on behalf of the captors, “Iraqi Secret Army — The Holders of Black Banners” and the Kuwait Gulf Link (KGL) Transport Company to secure the release of the three Indian hostages in Iraq continued as the hostage crisis entered the 14th day today.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement after a meeting of the Crisis Management Group , saying that a fresh appeal was made for the earliest possible release of the hostages to enable them to rejoin their anxious families in India.
The statement said appreciation was expressed towards the efforts made by both, representatives of the KGL Company and Sheikh Dulaimi, Chairman of the National League of Iraqi Tribes Members, on humanitarian considerations, in pursuing negotiations.
“Our current information is that the hostage takers have reconfirmed that Sheikh Dulaimi can continue to negotiate with KGL company on their behalf,” it said.
On Sunday, Sheikh Dulaimi had announced that he was pulling out of the negotiations as he could not arrive at any agreement with M/s KGL.
It said the Indian Embassy in Baghdad had issued a press release last night welcoming the discussions that have been underway between Sheikh Dulaimi and M/s KGL to resolve the hostage crisis.
The CMG meeting was presided over by Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed.
KUWAIT CITY: KGL Company said today it was willing to send another representative for a new round of negotiations, but its relations with Sheikh Al-Dulaimi appear to be souring.
The company wanted Sheik Al-Dulaimi to “show total seriousness.”
Sheikh Al-Dulaimi announced on Sunday that the negotiations had broken down and there were no longer contacts with the hostage takers. He had also accused the company in an interview with the Emirates-based satellite television Al-Arabiya of not cooperating with him.
“We have no problem with sending another representative,” at the request of Al-Dulaimi, Rana Abu-Zaineh, a KGL spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. “But this time, at our conditions because we have shown good intentions and continuous cooperation at the time he is saying we are not cooperative.”
— AP
