Jumping the gun: Sushma Swaraj's tweet on the release of two Indians in Libya was overzealous

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj should not have jumped the gun and tweeted about her government’s ability to “secure" release of two of the four Indians abducted in Libya when the job was only half done. [caption id=“attachment_2375998” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. AFP[/caption] Moreover, the situation in Libya is so unclear, unsafe and fluid that even the Indian ambassador in Libya doesn’t live there and is discharging his duties from the nearby Tunisia, the northernmost country in Africa. The situation in Libya is so opaque that even the central government of Libya is clueless as to what is happening in the country where a large number of warlords and armed militias are ruling over their own pockets of influence divided by regions, cities and tribes. To make matters worse, the Islamic State too jumped into the Libyan cauldron and announced its presence in Libya in October 2014. The Islamic State claims it has “chapters” in Libyan cities like Sirte (where the four Indians were picked up by unknown people on 29 July), the capital Tripoli, Benghazi, al Badya and al-Khums. Besides, the IS reportedly has pockets of influence in many other regions of Libya. The security situation in this fourth largest country in Africa and the 17th largest country in the world (with an area of 1.8 million square kilometers) is such that as of 23 July, 2015, Libya is under the rule of at least six armed militias. Apart from the IS, the other five are as follows: Tobruk-based government and allies, New General National Congress and allies, Abu Salim Martyrs’ Brigade, Tuareg forces and local forces which are not allied with any side. Libya has been in this kind of situation since 20 October, 2011 when Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebel fighters in his hometown of Sirte. Against the backdrop of this, it is hard to understand Sushma Swaraj’s tweet on 31 July wherein she said thus: “Four Indians abducted in Libya – I am happy we have been able to secure the release of Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar. Trying for other two.”

Four Indians abducted in Libya - I am happy we have been able to secure the release of Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar. Trying for other two.

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 31, 2015

Not surprisingly, Congress leader Manish Tewari wasted no time in attacking Swaraj and asked whether the Indian government was “doing business” with IS in Libya. Sample the following two tweets of Tewari:

Happy 2 Indians released in Sirte LIbya pray for others Ques- since Sushma Swaraj claiming credit- is India doing business with IS in Libya?

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) August 1, 2015

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Since Foreign Minister seems to hv direct"hotline" to IS or ISIS in Libya what happened to 57 people from Punjab Are they dead or alive FM?

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) August 1, 2015

Normally, Swaraj has been a very cautious and careful minister and weighs her words very carefully before uttering these. But here in this case, she has been rather overzealous and is being seen as taking credit for something which appears to be an outlandish claim. Till date there is no confirmed information on the basic facts of the story. Here are a few unanswered questions. Who abducted the four Indians? Why? Was it the handiwork of the IS or some other groups were involved? Why the captors released only two of the four – both from Karnataka – while two others, both from Andhra Pradesh, are still in captivity? One should not forget that 39 abducted Indian construction workers from Punjab are still traceless in Iraq since June 2014. There is no doubt about the identity of their captors in this case because the area from where they were snatched are firmly under control of the IS. The government has not been able to bring them home in the past 13 months, though Sushma Swaraj has repeatedly said that her multiple sources tell her that they are alive. Possibly, these 39 Indians are being used by the IS as slave labour. Sushma Swaraj had handled abductions of Indians in Iraq, including the nurses from Kerala, with admirable deftness and restraint. But in the case of abductions in Libya, she has gone overboard. There should not be any statements from any Indian official, leave alone from the foreign minister, which even remotely suggest that it was the Indian government which “secured” their release. This is because two Indians, T Gopi Krishna and Ch Balram from Hyderabad, are still being held hostage by masked gunmen at an unknown location. A positive development is that Asia Times ran a sources-based story on 31 July saying that the two Indian teachers in captivity in Libya may be released by Monday. One specific input given by the report is that some of the kidnappers are former students of University of Sirte who were led astray by extremist views. One only hopes that the story proves to be correct.