One of 7 abducted Indians return home from Afghanistan

One out of the seven Indian nationals who were kidnapped in Afghanistan's Baghlan province in May last year, returned safely to India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

"We are grateful to the Government of Afghanistan for their support in securing the release and repatriation of the Indian national," the MEA stated. "We continue to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan for safe and early return of the remaining six Indian nationals," it added.

The seven Indians were kidnapped by Taliban militants in northern Baghlan province on May 6 last year.

The Indian nationals were employed in RPG Group company KEC International and were working on a project for the construction of a power sub-station in the country when they were abducted.

Following the incident, India had said that it was in touch with Afghan authorities, adding that the lives of the seven Indian nationals were at stake.

"We are in touch with the Afghan authorities on this matter. Our External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and our National Security Advisor Ajit Doval have had the telephonic conversations with their counterparts and we have requested for all the possible assistance from them," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had told reporters on May 10 last year.

"This is a sensitive matter. Lives of seven Indians are involved. Thereby, we cannot share much about where we are at this point of time in a public forum," he had said.

India has been carrying out re-construction activities and various development projects in Afghanistan. It has provided at least USD 2 billion aid to the war-torn country.