Afghan authorities suspect Taliban commander behind Indian engineers’ abduction

Seven on Sunday are believed to be in an area near the capital of northern Baghlan province and efforts are underway to secure their release, two persons familiar with the latest developments said Monday.

The Indians, all electrical engineers working for KEC International Limited, the flagship company of RPG Group, were taken away along with their Afghan driver by gunmen in the provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri while on their way to a government-run power station. Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban.

The Indians are now believed to be in Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri, according to an official.

“We are doing whatever we can to secure their release. We have an idea of about where they might be, and who might be able to help the local administration to get their release,” said the Indian official, asking not to be named.

The Taliban is suspected to be behind the kidnappings, with an official calling this a type of “soft abduction”, usually done for extortion.

Local authorities suspect Qari Bakhtiar, a key Taliban commander in the area, could have played a role in the abductions.

Bakhtiar’s son Tariq was arrested by Afghan security forces in March.

During a meeting with India’s ambassador Vinay Kumar in Kabul on Monday, Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani expressed “grief and sorrow” at the abduction of the Indians and said “Afghan security forces will not spare any efforts to protect the physical safety and secure the release of these engineers”. Rabbani said efforts had been initiated through community elders to secure the release of the Indians, according to a statement from the Afghan foreign ministry. He made a similar assurance to his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj during a phone conversation on Sunday.

Officials are looking at whether there was any lapse in the protocol for Indian nationals travelling in an area with a strong Taliban presence without security guards.

Baghlan governor Abdul Nemati said security forces and local officials are trying to trace the Indians and their driver. He said local tribal elders too have stepped up efforts for the release of the Indians and gave an assurance that they would be released soon. The seven Indians and their Afghan driver were kidnapped in Bagh-e-Shamal area of Pul-e-Khumri early on Sunday while on their way to a power substation. Pajhwok Afghan News reported, citing witnesses, that a group of armed men stopped the white car the Indians were travelling in on the Pul-e-Khumri-Mazar-e-Sharif highway. The witnesses saw them being taken away in a mini bus by the armed men.

Baghlan has witnessed significant fighting over the past two years with the Taliban establishing a strong presence in the area. In recent months, the Taliban have targeted facilities for supplying electricity, angered because power is not being supplied to villages under their control. The abductions also came days after India and China unveiled plans to jointly implement a development project in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s military establishment has for long opposed a larger role for India in Afghanistan. Indian and US officials have accused elements in the Pakistani military of using militants to target Indian interests. During his meeting with the Indian envoy, foreign minister Rabbani appreciated India’s “significant role” in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and expressed his contentment at the strong bilateral relations and cooperation among the two sides.

Rabbani said the foreign ministry would cooperate with India to further expand these relations and cooperation. The two sides discussed the political priorities of Afghanistan, such as the peace process, elections, bilateral economic and trade cooperation and projects being implemented with Indian support.