We were aware that under the Taliban, there is no torture and the only thing is death. They scared us every day by threatening to kill us. Almost every day, these men would open fire at us. The bullets would miss us narrowly. We had almost started to count our days as we were aware that the Taliban never talks, they only kill. Worse, the Taliban is very unpredictable. All we could do was pray for our safety.

On one occasion, one of the abductors came up to us and started talking. He insisted we speak in Persian. I was fluent in the language as I have been living in the country for six years. He asked again, "Why are you Indians living here and why do you come here to work?" I told him, "Indians are everywhere. We are here for your own benefit." He did not say anything after that.

After some time, I asked if they were going to kill us. He did not utter a word. I mustered courage and told him that only Allah could take away my life and my destiny was in His hands. He just responded, "Afghanistan is not a safe country."

We never knew why we were abducted. Our abductors never told us to convey any sort of message or asked for ransom. We suspect it was a way of telling the world that no outsider should work in Afghanistan. I think they were in constant touch with our employers and the intelligence agencies, but we were never told anything.

On the 18th day, I told them I wanted to make a phone call home. They arranged for a phone and both Gurung and I called our homes. We told our families not to worry, said we were safe and asked them to pray for us. It was a very emotional moment.

After 27 days of living in hell, our abductors said we would be released. "Go now, and we are warning you never to return to Afghanistan."

Image: Naeem Sarang's family celebrates in Mangalore after his release. Photograph: KPN Photos

Also read: Why the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked

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