Over 24,000 Indians residing in six war-torn countries: V K Singh

There are 24,084 Indians currently residing in six war-torn countries including in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the government said on Wednesday.

While approximately 11,000 Indians are still in Iraq, an estimated 8,000 are in Lebanon and nearly 3,000 are in Afghanistan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs General V K Singh (retired) said in written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Responding to a separate query on incidents of Indians being taken hostage in foreign countries, Singh said, as per information available with the ministry, 27 Indian nationals were kidnapped during 2015, 2016 and 2017 (till date).

ALSO READ | India's request for extradition of Vijay Mallya, 9 others pending with UK: Govt

While one of them continues to be in captivity in Yemen since 2016, 25 have been released and one has died, the minister said.

In yet another query on complaints about NRI marital disputes, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the ministry has received 2,485 such complaints in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (till date).