Navy Officers’ Return A Diplomatic Win

Seven of the 8 former Indian Navy veterans, who had been jailed in Qatar for months, returned to India in the early hours of Monday after being freed as a result of months of negotiations by the Indian government.

"The Government of India welcomes the release of 8 Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar. Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The MEA added, “We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals.”

"We waited almost for 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. It wouldn't have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar. We are grateful to the Government of India from the bottom of our hearts for every effort that has been made and this day wouldn't have been possible without those efforts," one of the ex-sailors who returned to India said.

Zaffar Iqbal speaks to

Amb KP Fabian | Former Indian Ambassador to Qatar

Maj Gen Dhruv Katoch | India Foundation

Cmdr GJ Singh | Senior Defence Analyst