Hostage situation difficult: CMG

Sheikh Hisham Al Dulaimi, the negotiator of the group that has abducted three Indians in Iraq, has made a fresh appeal to the militants not to harm the hostages.

"The information we have is that the negotiator (Dulaimi) has requested the captors not to carry out their threat," Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed told reporters after a special meeting of the Crisis Management Group.

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"The contacts are on. But it is a difficult situation," Foreign Secretary Shashank, another member of the CMG said.

He said the three Indian hostages - Antaryami, Tilak Raj and Sukhdev Singh - were ordinary workers who went to Kuwait to earn their livelihood. They did not know that they would have to confront such a situation.

Shashank said their families were perturbed and government shared their concerns but insisted, "The government of India did not send them. They went on their own."

Following reports of the threat issued by the kidnappers, India had last night issued a fresh appeal for the release of the hostages while emphasising that the three Indians were poor people who went to Kuwait seeking employment, and were not working for 'occupation forces' in Iraq.