India is making every effort to secure the safe release of seven Indian engineers who were kidnapped by Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan province on Sunday.
At a media briefing here on Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India was in touch with different people through the Afghan Government to secure the release of the seven Indians, who worked for RPG Group company KEC International.
He said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had spoken to their respective Afghan counterparts Salahuddin Rabbani and Mohammad Hanif Atmar and requested them to freeing the abducted Indians.
‘’It is a serious issue…lives of seven Indians are involved. I would not like to share anything more on this in public,’’ the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that thorny negotiations are going on to secure the release of the abducted Indians but success has eluded the Indian authorities so far. Top representatives of the Afghan government are talking to the local authorities and village elders to get the Indians freed.
aghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati is believed to have stated that he was making every effort through tribe elders to secure the release of the Indians. Abducted engineers could be held in an area near Pul-e Khomri in Baghlan.
The involvement of Pakistani agencies in the kidnapping is not ruled out. India’s presence in Northern Afghanistan, particularly in the power sector, is being resented by the Pakistani establishment.
It’s understood that the Indians were travelling without an armed guard when they were kidnapped.