91 Punjabis return from Iraq

Chandigarh, July 8 (IANS) At least 91 men from Punjab who were stuck in conflict-hit Iraq have returned home, a state government spokesman said here Tuesday.

Nearly 40 youths from the state have returned from Iraq in the last five days.

The latest batch of Punjabis arriving from Iraq landed in New Delhi Tuesday morning. They arrived by a special flight the central government sent to get them back.

Of the returned men, 24 are from Hoshiarpur district, 12 from Gurdaspur, 10 from Kapurthala, nine from Jalandhar, eight from Amritsar, seven from Ludhiana, four each from Pathankot and Tarn Taran, three each from Nawanshehar, Sangrur and Ropar, two from Moga and one each from Fathegarh Sahib and Patiala districts, the spokesman said.

According to the official information, over 700 men from Punjab were stuck in Iraq.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday said he would again meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to urge her to expedite the process of bringing back 39 Punjabis trapped in Mosul region of Iraq.

Badal gave this assurance to a delegation of family members of the Punjabis taken hostage or stuck in Iraq. The family members met Badal here Monday.

The chief minister said he was personally monitoring the efforts to secure release of the Punjabis taken hostage in Iraq and was in constant touch with external affairs ministry officials and the special envoy of India to Iraq Suresh Reddy.