Chandigarh: Chief Minister of the northern Indian state of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, on Saturday urged Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure the safety of Punjabis arrested in Kuwait following a brawl. Swaraj said she was personally keeping tabs on the situation.
Badal, during the telephonic conversation with the Union Minister, apprised her about the plight of the arrested Punjabis who were allegedly “passing through extreme mental harassment and agony at the hands of Kuwaiti authorities”.
Seeking prompt intervention of the Union government in the matter, an official release quoting the chief minister said that the Union government should make all-out efforts to save their lives.
Several Indians, including people from Punjab, were arrested in Kuwait following a brawl with people of a different country.
Badal said it was high time the Union government used all diplomatic channels to ensure the safety of the arrested Punjabis.
The chief minister said that it was beyond the state government’s jurisdiction to help Punjabis living in other countries, and therefore the Punjab government was appealing to the Centre to take prompt action.
Expressing solidarity with the families of the arrested Punjabis, Badal said that the state government was solidly with them in this hour of crisis.
Responding to the issue, Swaraj assured the chief minister that she was personally keeping tabs on the situation and has already directed the Secretary External Affairs (Gulf), Government of India to be in close liaison with the Kuwait Foreign Ministry to ensure the safety and security of the arrested Punjabis, an official statement said.
