New Delhi, August 8
Kuwaiti employer of the three Indian hostages in Iraq tonight pulled out of the negotiations after their captors made fresh “last minute” demands giving a setback to prospects of their release but the government urged the negotiators to “remain engaged”.
“Till last night, everything was going fine. We were expecting to receive the hostages but the abductors changed their mind at the last minute and put in a new demand,” Rana Abu-Zaineh, spokesperson of Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company told PTI over phone from Kuwait.
Zaineh was quoted by AP late tonight as announcing that the company has “pulled out of the negotiations” to end the 19-day hostage crisis.
Asked about reports that KGL has pulled out of the talks, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said, “I don’t have that information”.
— PTI
