Afghanistan government in talks for release of abducted Indian engineers

NEW DELHI: The Afghanistan government is engaged in intense negotiations with the Taliban to secure the release of the seven Indian engineers allegedly abducted by the extremist group from the northern part of the country on May 6, said people aware of the matter. They said Afghan officials are regularly updating the Indian authorities in this regard.
All sides are keen to maintain secrecy on the details of the negotiations until the Indian nationals are released, said one of the persons.He said the area where the engineers were abducted is witnessing a battle between Afghan security forces and the Taliban. The Afghan security forces are also battling the Taliban elsewhere in their country. Besides the security forces are also engaged in a fight with the Islamic State in certain pockets of Afghanistan.
“We held meetings with some tribal elders for the release of the engineers. The tribal elders are talking with the Taliban to ensure the safe release of Indian engineers,” said an Afghan official.
India has also been in touch with Russia in this regard, and the Afghan situation was a key item on the agenda of discussions when national security adviser Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale were in Moscow earlier this month to prepare for PM Narendra Modi’s informal summit with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on May 21.
The Indian engineers were allegedly abducted by Taliban near the Cheshma-e-Sher area in Baghlan. Recently external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had sought help from her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani. Doval too had a telephonic conversation with his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar on the issue.