Zee Media Bureau/Biplob Ghosal
New Delhi: Indian envoy to Afghanistan Amar Sinha on Tuesday said that the Indian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan is safe and the government is working towards getting him released.
The 47-year-old Indian, Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen from Herat earlier this month.
Speaking to ANI, Sinha confirmed that Kumar is still being held in captivity; however, the Indian government is working for his safe release.
Since there is no concrete hostage policy in Afghanistan, the officials there are working with "district elders" to secure Kumar`s release. The Indian Consulate is also closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Afghan officials.
The Indian envoy to Afghanistan said that Afghans were happy with Narendra Modi becoming the Indian Prime Minister. “One Afghan told me that he has heard 500 speeches of Modi,” Sinha added.
Laying emphasis on improving the security scenario in the war-torn country, Sinha said that India needs to worry about how the situation evolves in Afghanistan and hopes the country remains peaceful.
Last month, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai had blamed the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba for an attack on Indian consulate in Herat on May 23.
The four heavily armed gunmen were however killed and the strike was foiled by Afghan security forces and Indian paramilitary forces.
Karzai, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, also claimed that the Afghanistan government had received information from a Western intelligence agency that the attackers belonged to the LeT.
