An Indian charity worker who was kidnapped in Afghanistan last month reached New Delhi yesterday Saturday she was rescued.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup confirmed that Judith D’Souza landed in New Delhi yesterday evening.
D’Souza, a staff member of the Aga Khan Foundation, a prominent NGO that has long worked in Afghanistan, was abducted near her residence in the heart of Kabul on the night of June 9.
Yesterday morning, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that Judith, 40, was rescued in Afghanistan.
“I am happy to inform you that Judith D’Souza has been rescued,” Swaraj tweeted.
Appreciating Ambassador Manpreet Vohra for “an outstanding job,” Swaraj said: “I have spoken to Judith. She is reaching Delhi this evening.
Ambassador @VohraManpreet is accompanying her.”
Swaraj thanked Manpreet and Afghanistan for the support.
In her tweet she added: “Thank you Afghanistan - for all your help and support in rescuing Judith.”
An Afghan security official said that D’Souza was rescued in an operation in a district of Kabul on Friday and no ransom was paid.
He added that a criminal gang, and not militants, were behind the abduction, which had prompted desperate pleas from D’Souza’s family to Indian officials on social media.
D’Souza was working with the NGO as a senior technical adviser since July 2015.
Her family expressed gratitude following news of her rescue.
“Judith has been rescued by the government. Our family’s joy knows no bounds. Gratitude to @PMOIndia @SushmaSwaraj @VohraManpreet,” her brother Jerome tweeted.
“It is an occupational hazard. It could have happened to anyone. Judith is a thorough professional. We are looking forward for a much-awaited reunion,” he said.
Asked what would be her next course of action, Jerome said: “Let her come back, let her spend some time, let her take a break and then she can take a call.”
He stressed on privacy.
“It is a family issue and we want to be away from glare of the media.”
Her sister Agnes too insisted on privacy as reporters made a beeline for their first floor residence.
“We are thankful to the Indian government for getting my sister back. We are also grateful to Swaraj. We request the media to respect our privacy,” she said.
The D’Souzas’ joy infected the neighbourhood as well.
Long-time neighbours said the D’Souzas were “finally breathing a sigh of relief.”
“Whenever I used to meet Judith’s mother, I used to ask her about updates and she would say ‘pray for her’,” a neighbour said in Kolkata.
D’Souza’s abduction came after Katherine Jane Wilson, a well-known Australian NGO worker, was kidnapped on April 28 in the city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan.
Wilson, said to be aged 60, ran an organisation known as Zardozi, which promotes the work of Afghan artisans, particularly women.
The United States warned its citizens in Afghanistan in May of a “very high” kidnapping risk after an American citizen narrowly escaped abduction in the heart of Kabul.
Aid workers in particular have increasingly been casualties of a surge in militant violence in recent years.
In April last year the bullet-riddled bodies of five Afghan workers for Save the Children were found after they were abducted by gunmen in the strife-torn southern province of Uruzgan.
Charity worker Judith D’Souza looks on as she meets External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi yesterday after returning to India.
