Kidnapped Mangalorean Mohd Nayeem Released

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, May 18: Indian national Mohammed Nayeem, who was kidnapped from Afghanistan's Herat province in April, has been released by his captors.

The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed the release of Nayeem.

Nayeem, who works for Dubai-based HEB International Logistics, was kidnapped on April 22. Nayeem was travelling in a taxi on a main highway in Adraskan near Herat when he was abducted.

The kidnapping of Nayeem was part of a series of incidents targeted at around 4,000 Indians working in Afghanistan on various projects.

The Taliban militia are suspected to be behind most of these attacks on Indians as they don't want New Delhi to build the strategic Zaranj-Delaram road link that seeks to reduce Afghanistan's dependence on Pakistan for overland access to Central Asia and provide an alternative route for Indian goods to that country.

India has pledged $850 million for a number of developmental projects in Afghanistan - a gateway to the energy-rich Central Asia.

New Delhi has already made it clear that it would not "succumb" to pressure from any quarters to withdraw from the strife-torn country.

When daijiworld.com contacted his parents in Mangalore, they have confirmed the news. Nayeem is expected to arrive India during evening hours of May 18.

Further details are awaited