Swaraj seeks Afghan govt's help in releasing 7 abducted Indians

Swaraj, during a telephonic conversation with her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani, conveyed India's concerns about the abducted Indians and requested him for help in tracing and freeing them, official sources said.

They said the Afghan Foreign Minister assured Swaraj that his government would make all possible efforts to rescue the abducted Indian engineers.

"Rabbani, in the conversation, assured the Indian External Affairs Minister that the Afghan security forces would not spare any efforts in rescuing and ensuring the security and safety of the engineers," the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Security officials in Afghanistan are working with local tribal elders to trace the seven Indian engineers abducted by the Taliban gunmen in the restive northern Baghlan province, media reports said on Monday.

Provincial police spokesman Zabiullah Shuja said the Indian engineers of KEC International, an RPG group company, were working on a project for the construction of a power sub-station.

They were abducted by the militants from the vicinity of Cheshma-e-Sher area on Sunday while they were travelling to inspect the work progress.

Shuja said the Afghan driver of the engineers is also missing and an operation is underway for their release, according to media reports.

The security officials in the province said efforts are underway by the Afghan forces and the government officials as well as the local tribal elders for the release of the Indian engineers.