New Delhi: Judith D’Souza, an Indian woman kidnapped from Kabul in Afghanistan, returned to India on July 23.
Her abductors released her unharmed the previous evening after 44 days in captivity.
The 40-year-old aid worker landed in New Delhi Saturday evening accompanied by the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs around 5 pm on Saturday. She met India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She could reach Kolkata either late on Saturday or early Sunday morning.
The officials didn’t provide any details about who Judith’s captors were or how she was rescued. The family, too, kept mum on this.
“We have other Indians in captivity in foreign lands. We cannot share the standard operating procedures as those operations might be compromised,” said an officer.
D’Souza works with The Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan as a senior technical adviser. She was abducted by gunmen from Kabul’s Qala-e-Fatullah area while returning from dinner on June 9. She arrived in Kabul more than a year ago, on her second stint in the Afghan capital.
D’Souza was released after weeks of back channel talks shrouded in secrecy, hectic parleys with stubborn abductors and constant interaction with the family in Kolkata to keep them hopeful, report agencies.
“Jerry, I want my life back,” these were her first words to her elder brother Jerome as soon as she was rescued from her captors.
“I am safe and healthy. How are ma and baba? How is Agnes?” Judith enquired about her entire family.
Her release was first announced by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday morning.
”I am happy to inform you that Judith D’Souza has been rescued,” the minister announced in a tweet. She gave no details about how the release came about.
She also thanked Afghan authorities for their “help and support” in securing Judith’s release.
“Judith D’Souza is with us – safe and in good spirits. She will reach her Motherland at the earliest. Vande Mataram,” Swaraj tweeted.
D’Souza reached Delhi accompanied by India’s ambassador to Kabul Manpreet Vohra.
Swaraj said the external affairs ministry had been in constant touch with Afghan authorities to ensure a safe release for Judith.
Swaraj also lauded the efforts made by the India’s ambassador to Afghanistan in securing Judith’s release.
D’Souza’s family had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, urging his intervention in ensuring that she is reunited with them.
Modi had requested Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to expedite efforts to secure Judith’s release.
Abductions are a major problem in Afghanistan, affecting mostly Afghans.
Police in Kabul told foreigners living outside protected compounds to travel with guards after D’Souza’s abduction.
The Aga Khan Foundation is part of the Aga Khan Development Network, which has channeled nearly $750 million into Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
D’Souza’s family has thanked the government for bringing her back safe.
“We are thankful to the Indian government for the rescue of our sister. We are now waiting for her to be back home. We would request the media to respect our privacy,” D’Souza’s sister Agnes told PTI.
Her brother Jerome told The Times of India, “My family and I are grateful to the Indian government and Sushma Swaraj ji for ensuring my sister’s release.”
Swaraj had spoken to Judith’s family and assured them that the government was “doing everything to rescue her.”
At their Entally residence in Kolkata, D’ Souza family — father Denzel D’Souza and mother Lawrence D’Souza along with elder sister Agnes D Souza — said they were delighted on hearing the news of rescue of Judith.