Afghans free abducted Australian aid worker

Katherine Jane Wilson was seized by gunmen in April

KABUL // Afghan special forces rescued an Australian aid worker four months after she was taken at gunpoint in the country’s volatile east.

Katherine Jane Wilson, said to be 60 years old, was “safe and well”, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said yesterday. Ms Bishop did not say when Ms Wilson was released or who was behind her abduction. Masked gunmen kidnapped Ms Wilson from Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan, in late April when she was visiting the city for a women’s embroidery project.

“I confirm that Kerry Jane Wilson, who was abducted in Afghanistan in April this year, has been released,” Ms Bishop said, without saying whether Ms Wilson was still in Afghanistan. The minister, who had said Australia did not pay ransom to kidnappers, voiced relief for Ms Wilson and her family.

Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, the national directorate of security, said Ms Wilson was released in a “special operation” but did not offer details.

Ms Wilson, a well-known aid worker in the country, ran an NGO known as Zardozi, which promotes the work of Afghan artisans – particularly women.

After her abduction, an Australian man and an American colleague were seized in Kabul by gunmen wearing police uniforms.

The two foreigners, professors from the American University of Afghanistan, were pulled from their vehicle this month after the kidnappers smashed the passenger side window and hauled them out. Ms Bishop said she deeply appreciated the support of the Afghan authorities in facilitat- ing Ms Wilson’s release.

But she added: “To protect those who remain captive or face the risk of kidnapping in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the government will not comment on the circumstances of Kerry Jane’s release.” The abductions underscore the growing dangers foreigners face in Afghanistan, which is plagued by Taliban and other militant groups.

Kabul, the Afghan capital, is infested with organised criminal gangs who stage kidnappings for ransom, often targeting foreigners and wealthy locals, and sometimes handing them over to insurgent groups. The United States in May warned its citizens in Afghanistan of a “very high” risk of kidnapping after an American narrowly escaped abduction in the heart of Kabul.

The aid worker is safe and well, says Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister