India's Oman envoy to negotiate release of hostages

India's ambassador to Oman, Talmiz Ahmad, yesterday left for Baghdad after being named as the Indian government's envoy to hold direct negotiations with the captors of the three Indians being held hostage in Iraq since July 27.

"The ambassador is on his way to Baghdad," Manjeev Singh Puri, Minister at the Indian Embassy told Gulf News yesterday.

Junior Minister of State for External Affairs, Edappakath Ahamed, said: "The Indian envoy has been head of Haj missions and having served in Kuwait, Sana, Jeddah, Riyadh and Baghdad was the right person to negotiate with the militants.

"He is ... an Arabic speaker and has served in the Gulf region," the minister said. "We understand that Ambassador Ahmad is already on his way to Baghdad and expected to reach Baghdad either this evening or at latest by tomorrow morning," he added.

"The families of the hostages have been contacted and apprised of the latest developments. Our latest information from our embassies in Baghdad and Kuwait is that the talks are continuing," Ahamed said in the statement.

The government has so far been conducting its negotiations through KGL (Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co), which employs the seven kidnapped truckers, including the Indians – Antaryam, Tilak Raj and Sukhdev Singh.

A statement from the Indian foreign ministry confirmed that Indian embassy in Baghdad contacted Shaikh Hisham Al Dulaimi, a tribal leader appointed by the kidnappers as mediator, for the first time on Friday following his insistence on dealing directly with the Indian mission. The announcement came as the kidnappers, the 'Islamic Secret Army - Holders of the Black Banners', warned through a negotiator that they were serious about killing the hostages one by one if a Saturday 1500 GMT deadline for their demands to be met.

A key demand is that the KGL pulls out of Iraq.

Boosting the mood of optimism was a statement by Dulaimi, that KGL had agreed to meet their key demands that it compensate victims of US military action in Fallujah and pull out of Iraq.

Dulaimi spoke after holding meetings with Mehdi Saleh, an Iraqi representative of KGL in Baghdad.

"We are in negotiations and we are trying to overcome some obstacles, particularly those relating to the kidnappers' demands that are of a political nature," said Dulaimi.

"We ask for more time from the kidnappers so that we can achieve a positive outcome," said the Iraqi tribal leader.

Earlier, Dulaimi had threatened to pull out of the negotiations unless the Kuwaiti firm cedes to the militants' demands.

"If the Kuwait side doesn't undertake anything, I will withdraw because I only accepted this task for humanitarian reasons," Dulaimi said. "Everything depends on the company," Dulaimi said, insisting that the deadline was the kidnappers' "last".