A senior official, who spoke to the men said they “will be returning to India soon”, but added it would be best not to publish details until they had word of the release of the other two men.
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Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari on Saturday sparked a controversy after he raised a question on whether India was doing business with the Islamic State in Libya, following the release of two detained Indians. “Three of them were faculty members at the Sirte University and one was working at the Sirte University branch in Jufra”, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had yesterday said.
In a tweet on Friday evening, Ms. Swaraj “I am glad we have possessed the capacity to secure the release of Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar”.
Last year, 39 Indian construction workers were taken hostage in Iraq amid the fighting between Sunni extremist fighters and the Iraqi government forces, dominated by the Shia.
Planning under way for talks with PakistanThe governments of India and Pakistan were working to set up talks between their country’s National Security Advisers in the later half of August, Indian officials said on Friday. “Trying for other two”, Ms Swaraj tweeted on Friday.
The Andhra Pradesh Government today said it is in touch with the Centre and making all efforts to secure the release of P Gopikrishna, one of the four Indians kidnapped in Libya allegedly by the Islamic State terror group.
Earlier in the day Swarup told reporters that the four men were held at a checkpoint about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Sirte late Thursday night.
Kalyani, wife of Gopikrishna, said he spoke to her on Wednesday over phone and informed that he was coming home via Tunis.
Thirty-nine Indians remain missing in Iraq since last summer.
Various militias and Islamist factions have been battling in Libya since former strongman Moammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.
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However, so far, there has been no word on other two Indians – Balram Kishan and T Gopikrishna – who apparently remain under the ISIS captivity even as the Indian government is continuing efforts for their release.
