JAILED IS MEMBERS AMONG INDIANS FREED

NEW DELHI: A dozen Indians including several women from Kerala, who travelled to Afghanistan to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 2016, are among hundreds of jihadis freed by Taliban from Kabul’s two prisons, Pul-e-Charkhi and Badam Bagh, according to an initial assessment by Indian counterterrorism and intelligence agencies.

Counterterrorism officials monitoring the situation closely said that with the Taliban now in power in Afghanistan, these highly radicalised men and women, who travelled to the Nangarhar province along with their partners and children to live under the Sharia law, have finally got what they wanted.

The rapid collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s government and surrender by Afghan security forces mean that Indian agencies have no means to confirm the exact location of the jihadis. “There is also a possibility that at some point, they will try to enter India via a third country. We have to maintain a close watch now,” said an officer at of the Indian agencies who spoke on condition of anonymity. While at least eight people from the Kerala ISIS module, wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), are among those released, an estimate suggests that there were around 24-25 Indians lodged in various prisons in Afghanistan. About a dozen of these were lodged at Pul-e-Charkhi and Badam Bagh.

Indian agencies are not clear about the status of the other prisoners. The Kerala women lodged in the two prisons were questioned by Indian agencies last year.