India names envoy to negotiate hostages release, cleric appeals

By: Nizam Hussain

LUCKNOW, India: India’s Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawaad has made a mercy appeal to the Iraqi group holding seven people, including three Indians, as hostages and threatened to execute one of them if their demands are not met.

The cleric also led prayers at Lucknow's historic Imambara to save the lives of the innocent hostages. This was followed by an appeal to the terrorists, stressing that kidnapping the innocent workers was “thoroughly un-Islamic”.

“The hostages are ordinary innocent workmen and it is not only unfair to hold their lives to ransom, but is also thoroughly un-Islamic.”

He added: “After all, the poor workers had done no wrong, committed no crime; and Islam forbids any kind of harshness or violence with the innocent. Therefore, if they are true followers of Islam they must promptly release the hostages and not allow any kind of harm to befall upon them.”

The three Indians, Antaryami Bains and Tilak Raj from Himachal Pradesh and Sukhdev Singh from Punjab, were kidnapped on July 21 along with four others.

Meanwhile, India's Ambassador to Oman, Talmiz Ahmad, has been asked to fly into Baghdad to help in negotiating the release of three Indian truck drivers.

“It has been decided to depute Talmiz Ahmad our ambassador in Muscat… Zikrur Rahman, one of the government's best Arabic interpreters, will assist Ahmad. Ahmad is expected to reach the Iraqi capital later Saturday evening or early on Sunday,” Minister of State for External Affairs, E. Ahamed, said in a statement on Saturday.

A diplomat with 28 years experience, Ahmad has served with distinction in various places, including Iraq, New York, Saudi Arabia and Oman. He has also been the ministry's official spokesman.

His deputation to Baghdad is being seen as significant, given his association with matters concerning the Middle East. A concerned Indian government has said that it has deputed its most experienced personnel in the hope of convincing the militants not to go through with their threat to execute their Indian hostages, starting from today.

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