The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said one of the seven Indians who were abducted in Afghanistan’s Baghlan province in May 2018 has safely returned to India.
The Indians were employed as engineers at KEC International, an RPG group company, and were working on a project for the construction of a power sub-station in Baghlan. Afghan media had reported that Taliban commander Qari Nooruddin had kidnapped the Indians from Bagh-e-Shamal area of Pul-e-Khumri on May 6, 2018.
“We are grateful to the Government of Afghanistan for their support in securing the release and repatriation of the Indian national,” the ministry said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan for safe and early return of the remaining six Indian nationals.” The ministry did not reveal the Indian’s identity.
Although no group had claimed responsibility, Baghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati had said last year that a Taliban group was responsible for the kidnapping, reported The Indian Express. Nemati had said that Afghan authorities had spoken with the Taliban group, through local people, and had been told that the KEC International employees were mistaken for government staff.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also raised the matter with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.
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