Faith had nothing to do with my abduction, says priest released from Afghanistan

Father Alexis Prem Kumar Ananthaswamy, who was rescued from captivity in Afghanistan earlier this week, said on Thursday that he was yet to figure out why he was abducted by the gunmen.

The 47-year-old Jesuit priest was abducted by unknown gunmen from Herat in June last year and was held captive for nearly eight months.

He arrived in New Delhi on Sunday after the government managed to secure his release.

The foreign ministry had said it was a difficult eight month period and the country had pursued the matter quite relentlessly and thanked everybody involved in the process.

"It (abduction) was not for ransom; it was not for religious purpose, so that needs to be made very clear. It was not for both," Ananthaswamy said.

He said the support of the government - especially that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had personally called him - and prayers by Jesuits in Tamil Nadu helped him.

"I firmly believed that I would be saved. Deep within me, there was a strong hope that I will be rescued because I know my regional director is always behind me. With his capacity and networking, prayer - he has got networking all over the world and we have got goodwill of our own Jesuits here in Tamil Nadu," said Ananthaswamy, who worked with international Catholic organisation, Jesuits Refugee Service (JRS), in Afghanistan.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi had expressed delight over the priest's release, tweeting: "Have spoken to Father Alexis Prem Kumar. Informed happy family of Father Alexis Prem Kumar of his safe return after 8 months in captivity," he said.