40 Indians 'uncontactable' in Iraq's Mosul town: Govt

New Delhi, Jun 18: Forty Indians were "uncontactable" in Mosul town of strife-torn Iraq, government has said even as it decided to send former envoy to Iraq Suresh Reddy to strengthen the Indian Mission in Baghdad.

"There are 40 Indians in Mosul whom we have not been able to contact. Despite our best efforts at this stage... they remain uncontactable," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said today.

Asked about reports claiming that they were abducted, he said, "We cannot confirm it. However, they are uncontactable."

He, at the same time, said there were no reports of any Indian being targeted or involved in any violent incident in Iraq.

"The violence there is not targeted at Indian nationals. We are just caught in the cross-fire. At this stage we have no reports, no confirmation of any Indian national being involved in any violent accident," the Spokesperson said.

In response to a request by the Indian embassy, International Red Crescent had contacted 46 Indian nurses in Tikrit and provided them assistance, he said.

Insurgent outfits have seized the two cities of Mosul and Tikrit.

The Spokesperson said Reddy is being sent to Baghdad to strengthen the Indian Mission there which is trying to help the Indians in violence-affected areas.

"And we have decided to strengthen the embassy by sending a seasoned Indian diplomat Mr Suresh Reddy who will travel today to Baghdad to assist the embassy in its efforts," Akbaruddin said.

Amid mounting concerns over safety of Indians stranded in Iraq, India has set up a control room here to provide information to their families.

Following a direction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, a "crisis management meeting" yesterday reviewed all aspects of the assistance that can be provided to the Indian nationals stuck in the country.

In response to a request by the Indian embassy, International Red Crescent had contacted 46 Indian nurses in Tikrit and provided them assistance, the Spokesperson said.

Insurgent outfits have seized the two cities of Mosul and Tikrit.

"And we have decided to strengthen the embassy by sending a seasoned Indian diplomat Mr Suresh Reddy who will travel today to Baghdad to assist the embassy in its efforts," Akbaruddin said.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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