Negotiations for the release of foreign aid workers have sometimes lasted years, but there have been cases where their release was secured relatively quickly. Elsewhere in the country, too, foreign aid workers have been targeted. India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Manpreet Vohra, met with top security officials in Kabul on Friday, as the country’s security services launched a massive effort to seek out the 40-year-old D’Souza. In the DeBeers case, and in a similar incident involving two German aid workers, Afghan authorities said ransoms of over $1.5 million were paid in return for the safe return of the hostages. Local employees working for international organisations, who are deployed in rural areas where international staff cannot safely work, are among the most vulnerable to attack.

Source: Indian Express June 10, 2016 15:41 UTC