Badal urges Swaraj to ensure safety of Punjabis arrested in Kuwait

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure safety of Punjabis arrested in Kuwait following a brawl, to which Swaraj said she was personally keeping a close tab over the situation.

Badal, during the telephonic conversation with the Union Minister, apprised her about the plight of arrested Punjabis who were allegedly "passing through extreme mental harassment and agony at the hands of Kuwaiti authorities".

Seeking prompt intervention of Union government in the matter, an official release quoting Chief Minister said that the Union government should make all out efforts for saving their precious lives.

Several Indians, including people from Punjab, were arrested in Kuwait following an incident of brawl with people of a different country.

Badal said it was high time that the Union government must use all the diplomatic channels for ensuring the security of these arrested Punjabis.

The Chief Minister said that it was beyond the state government's jurisdiction to help the Punjabis living in other countries, and therefore the Punjab government was appealing to the Centre to take a prompt action for saving lives of the expatriates.

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 a close tab on the situation and has already directed the Secretary External Affairs (Gulf) , Government of India to keep close liaison with the Kuwait Foreign Ministry to ensure the safety and security of the arrested Punjabis, an official statement said.