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Compensation of no use: Slain engineer's wife

      Hyderabad: Even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy today announced a compensation of rupees five lakh to the wife of Suryanarayan, the Indian engineer who was on Sunday killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, his wife Manjula said the money would be of no use now, since her husband was dead. She said the government had failed to bring her husband back alive, and no amount of compensation could fill his void. Reddy today also promised to give a job to Manjula. The Andhra Chief Minister made this announcement after paying a visit to the bereaved family to pay his condolences. Suryanarayan's Bahraini company, Al Moayed, has also announced a compensation package of rupees 20 lakh for the family. Suryanarayan is survived by his wife and three children.

    Meanwhile, President APJ Abdul Kalam today expressed his sympathy to the bereaved family and condemned the killing. "Such an act is highly condemnable," said President Kalam. Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh condemned the killing, terming it as an act of terrorism. He asked the nation to be united in its fight against terrorism. "The Prime Minister has condemned the Taliban's inhuman act of killing an innocent Indian civilian," said the Prime Minister's Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru. Elsewhere, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has asked the government to be more vigilant of its nationals working in Afghanistan. In a statement issued here, the VHP said the Congress led UPA government ignored when the Taliban abducted and subsequently killed MR Kutty, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official working on the Delaram-Zaranj highway project in the war torn country. "Now the UPA ignored Suryanarayan also. It is the government's duty to explain it," the statement said.

Hyderabad saddened as Suryanarayan is killed

     Hyderabad: A pall of gloom hung heavy in Hyderabad on Sunday as the news of the killing of the abducted Indian engineer K. Suryanarayan by Taliban militia spread in the city. Expressing shock and serious concern over the unfortunate incident, residents of Hyderabad said that unless someone made the militants understand the virtue of humanity, the problems would not be solved. "What enmity could someone have? I really feel bad. They should understand what humanity is all about. Until and unless a person understands humanity, problem will not be solved," said Ahmed, a local. Ravi, a college student, said there should be an international law to end such sad incidents. "We go to foreign places and we work for them and we get killed. I think it's ridiculous and our Government should take some action regarding this and they should implement some laws to remove these types of actions," said Ravi.

    Raman Kutty, father of a truck driver who was executed by Taliban rebels in Afghanistan in November last year, said that the Government should make efforts to ensure the safety of Indian citizens working in Afghanistan. "Government should take some steps so that all others who are working there should feel safe," said Kutty at his native village in Harippad. The 41-year-old engineer was kidnapped with his driver after gunmen stopped their vehicle on a road in Zabul province on Friday. Taliban insurgents said on Saturday they took both men and vowed to kill Suryanarayan unless India withdrew all its workers from Afghanistan in 24 hours. However, the decapitated body of Suryanarayan was found in southern Afghanistan on Saunday morning, even before a team of the Ministry if External Affairs arrived in Kabul for talks. Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said over telephone, that Suryanarayan was shot dead on Saturday evening while he was trying to escape. Earlier, Yousuf has said that Suryanarayan was a US spy and he would be killed if India did not withdraw all of its nationals working in Afghanistan by 6 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Sunday. Violence and lawlessness across much of the south Afghan has crippled development, and the main task of thousands of NATO troops due soon to move into the region will be to ensure sufficient security for reconstruction. Militants have kidnapped aid agency staff and foreign company workers, who the Taliban say are supporting the Western-backed Government. India has close relations with Afghanistan and is involved in numerous aid and reconstruction projects. Indian officials said on Saturday India was committed to maintaining a presence in Afghanistan to help work on economic development.

Karzai condolences to Suryanarayan's family

     Kabul/Hyderabad: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday condemned the killing of K Suryanarayan, the Indian engineer who was abducted and subsequently killed by the Taliban and ordered security forces to find the persons responsible for the gruesome act. Suryanarayan, a telecommunications engineer, was found beheaded in southern Afghanistan on Sunday and the Taliban said they had killed him. Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said by telephone that Suryanarayan was shot dead on Saturday while trying to escape. Later his beheaded body was found near the main road between Qalat, the Zabul provincial capital, and Ghazni to the north, about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of Kabul. India confirmed the killing and said it would not be swayed from supporting Afghanistan. Karzai offered his condolences to the grieving family, who on Saturday had appealed for Suryanarayan's safe release. "These killings will not stop India, Afghanistan and the international community from moving forward towards development and we are committed in what we are doing. We express our condolences to the family of the victim and Afghanistan is sharing this moment of sorrow with them," Karzai said in Kabul. Forty-one-year old Suryanarayan was kidnapped along with his driver after gunmen stopped their vehicle on Friday. Taliban insurgents said on Saturday they had taken both men and vowed to kill Suryanarayan unless New Delhi withdrew all its workers from Afghanistan within 24 hours.