New Delhi: Judith D’Souza, an Indian woman social worker who was kidnapped in Afghanistan a month ago. has been rescued.
“I am happy to inform you that Judith D’Souza has been rescued,” India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted the morning of July 23.
The minister didn’t provide any details about who Judith’s captors were or how she was rescued.
Judith, 40, who works for Agha Khan Foundation as senior technical adviser, was kidnapped on June 9 by suspected terrorists from outside her office in the heart of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital.
She was in Kabul for more than a year on her second stint and was to come home to Kolkata on June 15, ndtv.com reported.
On July 22, Judith’s brother Jerome D’Souza had tweeted thanking Swaraj for her “assurances.”
Swaraj had spoken to Judith’s family and assured them that the government was “doing everything to rescue her.”
Earlier, her family wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to do his best to secure her release.
In the letter, the family members said that Judith, a “brave, thoughtful, generous and compassionate.” had been working in Afghanistan for the well-being of the Afghan people and “as an ambassador of goodwill from India’s people, participating in the developmental programs of that country.”
D’Souza is the second aid worker from India who has been rescued from Afghanistan through the government efforts.
On February 22, 2015, Jesuit Father Alexis Premkumar Antonysamy was released from captivity after he was abducted by the Taliban at Herat in Afghanistan on June 2, 2014.
In May this year, the Indian Embassy had issued a security advisory for Indians residing in Afghanistan and travelling to the country.
“All Indians residing and travelling to Afghanistan are advised that the security situation in the country remains highly volatile. Terrorist attacks have taken place in the country against foreigners and are expected to continue. There is also the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking throughout the Afghanistan. The Embassy advises all Indians in Afghanistan to live and work with adequate security precautions,” the statement said.