The Hindu : Front Page : Taliban sets deadline to kill hostage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 30, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Taliban sets deadline to kill hostage

Diplomatic Correspondent

Saran rejects demand for pullout of Indian citizens from Afghanistan

NEW DELHI: The Taliban has threatened to execute K. Suryanarayana, an Indian national, kidnapped in Afghanistan on Friday, by Sunday evening, if New Delhi does not pull its citizens out of the troubled nation.

Mr. Suryanarayana, who works for Al Moyaed, a Bahrain-based engineering company, was kidnapped with his Afghan driver while driving towards Qalat, capital of Zabul province, in Afghanistan.

A Reuters report from Afghanistan quoted Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf as saying that "if India does not pull out all its nationals working in Afghanistan by 1900 hrs IST tomorrow [Sunday], we're going to kill him." Mr. Yousuf claimed that Mr. Suryanarayana was an American spy.

In a statement here, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran rejected the Taliban demand. "Our presence in that country is to promote the welfare of the people of Afghanistan and the vast majority of the Afghan people have welcomed Indians working in their midst as their friends and well-wishers. We wish to assure the Government and people of Afghanistan that India stands by them and will continue to fulfil its solemn commitments to Afghanistan's development," he said.

In a late night development, the Government announced that a team led by a senior External Affairs Ministry official left for Afghanistan. The team has been authorised to establish contact with all concerned through appropriate channels.

Contact with authorities

Earlier, Mr. Saran said that India was in touch with the Afghan authorities to ascertain whether the deadline message was actually from those responsible for Mr. Suryanarayana's kidnapping.

"Despite this message, we have intensified our efforts to seek the early and safe release of [Mr.] Suryanarayana so that he can be reunited with his family. Our Ambassador is in constant touch with the Afghan National Security Adviser and other senior officials as also the employers of [Mr.] Suryanarayana... " he said.

"We have also contacted the international security forces deployed in the Zabul area, where the kidnapping took place. We would like to assure Suryanarayana's family that no stone is being left unturned to obtain his release. We share their pain and grief and their anxiety and will continue with our efforts using all the resources at hand," Mr. Saran said.

In a related development, Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi met senior officials to review the situation arising out of the Indian national's kidnapping in Afghanistan.

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