Naeem had moved to Karnataka from Mumbai after his SSC and his family subsequently settled down in Mangalore. Rafat, who has been married to him for 12 years, was visiting her family in Mumbai with her two daughters and son when the kidnapping took place.

“His company calls us everyday and they say we will get to hear his voice very soon. The Indian Government has also been updating us regularly. We trust them to bring him back,” said Munir.

“We are worried that the Government is not able to tell us who the kidnappers are,” said Nisar Ahmed Nasib, 53, an uncle of Naeem and Rafat. “We asked the Government twice if there were any demands for his release but there has been no mention of that either. Our only ray of hope is that Naeem knows Pushto and Farsi and he can put across his case to his abductors.”