Gunmen kidnap Indian national in Afghanistan

Unidentified gunmen Monday kidnapped an Indian national in western Afghanistan's Herat province, an official said.

Ehsanullah Hayat, spokesman of Herat's governor, confirmed the abduction of the Indian man and said he was working for a foreign organisation. He went missing from Zenda Jan district of the province, the spokesman added.

Police have launched an operation to rescue the kidnapped man, he said. Zenda Jan is around 35 km south of Herat City.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for his abduction.

A security official in Zenda Jan said the incident took place Monday afternoon while the Indian was visiting the area to assess the work on a project.

Meanwhile, India's external affairs ministry said that it was pursuing the case with the authorities in Afghanistan.

"Indian national working with an NGO in Herat province of Afghanistan has been kidnapped. R Mission pursuing matter with local authorities," Syed Akbaruddin, external affairs ministry spokesperson, tweeted.

Earlier in the day, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. She was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh who had just returned from Afghanistan where she had gone to assess the security situation.

Monday's incident comes close on the heels of an attack on the Indian consulate in Herat May 23 by four heavily armed gunmen who were killed by Indian and Afghan security personnel as they tried to storm the mission.

(Mansoor Faizy can be contacted at mansoorfaizy@hotmail.com)