India to take up writer killing with Afghanistan

Indian would take-up with Afghan government the killing of its writer, Sushmita Banerjee, allegedly by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan, Indian Minister of state for Parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla said late Friday. "It is condemnable. The external affairs ministry is pursuing the matter and will take it up with the Afghanistan government," Shukla told the upper house of parliament. Banerjee, a known Indian author, was reportedly shot outside her home on Thursday by suspected Taliban militants in eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan. The Indian author was married to an Afghan businessman. She had written the book "Escape from Taliban" following her experiences in Afghanistan and her escape from the Taliban captivity in the 1980s. Banerjee had recently joined her husband at their home in Afghanistan. Following the incident, both house of Indian Parliament condemned the killing with legislatures demanding the matter should be take up with the Kabul. Speaking with the media, Indias foreign minister Salman Khurshid described the killing of Indian author by alleged Taliban militants as "distressing." "We are already in touch and contact (with the Afghan Government). We support the efforts being made in Afghanistan to consolidate democracy. We had hoped that the election will take Afghanistan forward in that direction," Khurshid told the media outside the Parliament here. "The tragedy that has occurred today is a tragedy in which we stand by Afghanistan and we do believe that the loss is for Afghanistan and India combined. It is just not our loss alone. It's their loss as well," he added.