Sushma Swaraj requests her Afghani counterpart to help rescuing seven abducted Indians

NewsBharati    08-May-2018
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New Delhi, May 8: Taking a cognizance in the shocking incident of the abduction of seven Indian Nationals by Taliban in Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj requested the Afghan government to provide all possible help in rescuing them.

 

Notably, during a telephonic conversation, Minister Sushma Swaraj requested the Afghan government to provide all possible help in freeing seven Indian engineers of an RPG group company working in Afghanistan who were abducted by the Taliban terrorists in northern Baghlan province. After the request, her Afghani counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani assured that the government will make all possible efforts to rescue the abducted engineers.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said, “Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Salahuddin Rabbani had a telephone conversation with the Indian External Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj regarding the abduction of seven Indian engineers.”

“H.E. Rabbani in the conversation assured the Indian External Affairs Minister that the Afghan security forces would not spare any efforts in rescuing and ensuring the security and safety of the engineers,” the statement added.


All the seven Indian engineers of an RPG group company working in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province were abducted with the Afghan driver while they were traveling to the area where KEC has a contract to operate an electricity sub-station. However, the Afghan media reported that Taliban gunmen apparently mistook Indian nationals believing they are government employees.

Baghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati confirmed that the Taliban group took the engineers hostage and moved them to the Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri city. Nemati also added that the Afghan authorities spoke with the Taliban via local people and the terror group said it had abducted them, believing they were government employees. Nemati, in the end, said that they are trying to get the abductees released through mediation.

Meanwhile, Harsh Goenka, the chairman of the RPG Enterprises, the parent company of KEC, said he has requested External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help rescue its employees. "Request @SushmaSwaraj and Ministry of External Affairs to help rescue 7 of our managers from the kidnapping in Afghanistan.#KEC," Goenka tweeted.


The incident comes two weeks after 63 innocent civilians were killed while a hundred others were wounded after the multiple bombings took place at voter registration centres in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and in Baghlan province.