Kathmandu, December 2:

Efforts to free Nepali nationals held in custody in Baghdad and Kabul are moving in a positive direction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today .

Spokesperson for the ministry Hira Bahadur Thapa said the Nepali Embassy in Pakistan has informed that the nine Nepalis, who were arrested in Iraq in connection with a shooting incident, have been kept in the Al-Rustamia prison in Baghdad and will be freed within two to three days.

The nine Nepalis were arrested in Baghdad on November 19. They were taken to Baghdad by a Dubai-based manpower company named Almco. The ministry has stated it has received information that Sunita Tamang, Laxman Gurung, Devendra Shrestha, Tika Bhattarai and Narayan Khanal have been kept in a guesthouse in Kabul on the charge of not paying dues.

Efforts are on to search and rescue the stranded Nepalis through the Nepali Welfare Society.