Kabul/New Delhi : Suspected militants have abducted an Indian aid worker from Kabul. The kidnapped woman is Judith D’Souza, 40, who works as a senior technical advisor for the Aga Khan Developmental Network in Kabul, sources in New Delhi said. D’Souza was kidnapped late on Thursday; no group immediately claimed responsibility for her abduction.
The Indian embassy is in touch with senior Afghan authorities and the government, the sources said, adding that officials in Delhi were also in contact with her family in Kolkata. Before taking up the assignment in Kabul she had worked in West Bengal Puduchery, Tamil Nadu and in Orissa. She has also worked in Bangladesh and Nepal as a social worker. She studied in Loreto Convent School, Sealdah, and St Xavier’s College in Kolkata. She did her M. A. in social science from Mumbai University.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that she has spoken to D’Souza’s sister. “We will spare no efforts to rescue her,” she tweeted. “She is your sister and India’s daughter. We are doing everything to rescue her. Please take care of your sick father,” Sushma Swaraj added.
Judith’s family on Friday expressed hope that India and Afghanistan would act with alacrity in the matter. “It happened in a different country. The government of that country should take steps. She liked the place as she said there was a lot of work to be done,” Judith’s sister Agnes D’Souza told the media in Kolkata.
“But if such a thing happens, who would want to go back? I am asking every channel to do their part. The government of India must do something and get my sister back. I want her back,” she added. Asked about Taliban involvement in the crime, Agnes said: “I don’t know.” Judith’s family came to know about the development around 1.30 a.m. on Friday from the Indian embassy in Kabul.
This is not the first time that an Indian aid worker has been kidnapped in Afghanistan. At least two abducted Indians were killed by Taliban in captivity while four others were released in the last 13 years in Afghanistan. These include two construction workers who were kidnapped and released in December 2003.
Taliban militants have mostly been blamed for the kidnappings. Many Indian establishments have also been targeted in the past in Afghanistan where New Delhi has pledged and made huge investments to rebuild the war-torn country. Input
