,, Sent from my ASUS Pad Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا <[email protected]> wrote:
>http://mattersindia.com/2016/07/abducted-indian-woman-back-from-kabul-unharmed/ > >Abducted Indian woman back from Kabul unharmed > >Published on: 12:39 am, July 24, 2016 Story By: mattersindia.com >Judith D'Souza with Sushma Swaraj > >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. > > >-- >_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ >_/ >_/ Frederick Noronha | http://about.me/noronhafrederick | http://goa1556.in >_/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter @fn Facebook: fredericknoronha >_/ Goa,1556 CC shared audio content https://archive.org/details/goa1556 >_/ >_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
