Indian aid worker Father Alexis Prem Kumar, who was abducted by the Taliban from Afghanistan’s Herat province, returned home yesterday, ending a year-long wait and marking another chapter of diplomatic victory for the central government.
The Jesuit priest’s release - which came seven months after the government freed Indian nurses trapped in Iraq - is believed to be the outcome of national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval’s long negotiations in Afghanistan.
“Delighted at securing the release of Indian Jesuit priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
Prem Kumar, a native of Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, was abducted from a school for refugees in Afghanistan’s Sohadat, about 25km from Herat. He was working with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an educational charity, as its Afghanistan director and had been in the war-torn country for over three years when he was kidnapped.