Express News Service
NEW DELHI: It has been nearly two months since the position of Indian ambassador in Doha has been lying vacant. The previous ambassador to Doha, Dipak Mittal, returned to India in March and joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). It is learnt that joint secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vipul was his likely replacement. But no formal announcement has come from the MEA yet.
“It’s the next of kin of the eight naval veterans who have been under solitary confinement in Doha since August 31, 2022, who have been feeling completely helpless without an Indian ambassador.”
“It becomes difficult to access information about our men in Doha. With charges having been framed and the case being tried against these eight veterans under the Qatari law, our anxiety has increased and we do not have a go-to person to understand what lies ahead,’’ said a source.
Meanwhile, the naval veterans continue to call up home every week. The past few conversations that they’ve had indicated that their patience is wearing off as they feel tortured and threatened while under confinement.
The conversations we have had with our men in Doha are brief and are monitored by the Qatari authorities. As a result, we have not been able to have an open conversation with them since they were detained. They have always maintained that they are innocent and the charges leveled against them are baseless, sources said.
Meanwhile, the wives of some of the naval veterans have been in Doha for a few weeks now. They have been allowed in-person meetings with their husbands but the conversation is formal as it is always monitored by the Doha authorities.
With the eight naval veterans having lost their jobs, there is no money that is going to the families now, as a result of which the women who are in Doha are facing tremendous challenges to survive on their own as they reel under the uncertainty of what the next hearing (which will be in June) could hold for them.
Those charged are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta and sailor Ragesh. The charges against them have not officially been revealed, although reports suggest they are accused of spying for Israel about Qatar’s sensitive project to build Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics, media reports said.
NEW DELHI: It has been nearly two months since the position of Indian ambassador in Doha has been lying vacant. The previous ambassador to Doha, Dipak Mittal, returned to India in March and joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). It is learnt that joint secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vipul was his likely replacement. But no formal announcement has come from the MEA yet.
“It’s the next of kin of the eight naval veterans who have been under solitary confinement in Doha since August 31, 2022, who have been feeling completely helpless without an Indian ambassador.”
“It becomes difficult to access information about our men in Doha. With charges having been framed and the case being tried against these eight veterans under the Qatari law, our anxiety has increased and we do not have a go-to person to understand what lies ahead,’’ said a source.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Meanwhile, the naval veterans continue to call up home every week. The past few conversations that they’ve had indicated that their patience is wearing off as they feel tortured and threatened while under confinement.
The conversations we have had with our men in Doha are brief and are monitored by the Qatari authorities. As a result, we have not been able to have an open conversation with them since they were detained. They have always maintained that they are innocent and the charges leveled against them are baseless, sources said.
Meanwhile, the wives of some of the naval veterans have been in Doha for a few weeks now. They have been allowed in-person meetings with their husbands but the conversation is formal as it is always monitored by the Doha authorities.
With the eight naval veterans having lost their jobs, there is no money that is going to the families now, as a result of which the women who are in Doha are facing tremendous challenges to survive on their own as they reel under the uncertainty of what the next hearing (which will be in June) could hold for them.
Those charged are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta and sailor Ragesh. The charges against them have not officially been revealed, although reports suggest they are accused of spying for Israel about Qatar’s sensitive project to build Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics, media reports said.
