Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Afghanistan’s Ambassador, spoke to the Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu , Suhasini Haidar, on the kidnapping of Indian aid worker Judith D’Souza and the terror attacks that have targeted Indians and Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan.
Can you tell us how Judith was rescued and who held her captive?
I think we should wait for the details until she is home and police finish their enquiries. This is a moment of great relief and happiness for both our peoples and governments to have Judith D’Souza back safe and sound, as result of the tireless efforts of our relevant government institutions since her disappearance.
It appeared more like the work of gangsters, not terrorists who do it [kidnapping] not only to Indians, but Afghans and other nationals. Although such incidents cause a lot of pain and anxiety among our families and peoples but the resolve to defy all those who inflict this on us must remain strong so that we are able to secure a peaceful and prosperous future for both of our peoples whose destinies are more interlinked and intertwined than anytime before.
What can you tell us about her kidnapping?
I spoke to the Police chief after the incident. He said he had intelligence before the incident took place and had informed the lady that “you are at risk, please let us know before you leave your compound.”
Unfortunately, she went out without asking for escort. So we have such systems in Afghanistan that we take precautionary measures before-hand. So we hope that in the future Indian nationals in Afghanistan will be in touch with our agencies to provide proper escort and protection before they go out.
How does Afghanistan prepare to counter these attacks?
Well, unfortunately, such cases that we have hurt us as we see the problem of terrorism in its various manifestations.
The effect is in different ways, but there’s one thing that should satisfy [India] — Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan will stand firm guard for the lives of Indians in Afghanistan. You know, in the last 5-6 incidents that took place on Indian consulates, our forces have fought for the defence and their protection. And we have not faced a major loss to both the Indians and the Afghans there; this shows our commitment, the people of Afghanistan’s commitment to protecting our most strategic ally, India, in Afghanistan, whether it is the embassy, construction work, anything. So, we will do anything to protect India as the closest friend of Afghanistan.
So it seems, the brunt of terror attacks is hardest on Afghan people.
So the good thing is, it is not just the government, it is the Afghans who will protect India at any cost, be it their lives, if that may be required for the Indians to be safe and secure in Afghanistan and you must have received the various poll results, with the Afghan people giving the highest regard to India, an assurance to India that you are going to be protected. But yes, that’s how the situation is; we are not safe anywhere in the world nowadays because of the situation that we’re in. But the thing that matters most is, what are the guarantees, what are the measures that the Afghan government has taken — those measures are very strong. We are definitely going to have more security measures in the future.
