Heena Sharma Blog

Five Indian sailors have been abducted by pirates in Nigeria and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked the Indian high commissioner there to take up the matter at the highest levels of the Nigerian government to ensure their release. She also asked Indian ambassador in Nigeria Abhay Thakur to send her a report on the matter. "I have seen news reports about abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in Nigeria. I am asking Indian High Commissioner to take this up at the highest level with Government of Nigeria for their release," Swaraj tweeted. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

In a major diplomatic achievement, India for the first time addressed the OIC meeting on Friday here, and asserted that the war against terrorism, which was destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril, was not against any religion. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the grouping of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. "Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion," Swaraj, who is the first Indian minister to address the meeting of the 57 Islamic countries, said. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, a senior mi