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It was February 24 when local media first reported about the kidnapping of 31 passengers by unknown armed people on the Kandahar-Kabul highway and since then the Afghanistan government has yet to find a single clue about the abductors, and the abductees' fate remains unknown.
No specific group or individuals have claimed responsibility for the abduction while Taliban militants fighting the government have flatly denied their involvement.
Confusion over who is behind the abduction of the innocent passengers and what the abductors' demand are have confounded many, besides adding to the security concerns among the war-weary Afghans.
Days after the abduction, the government in an effort to secure the release of the abductees had launched military operations in parts of the restive Zabul province but found no clue as to the hostages' whereabouts and the hostage takers.
Meanwhile, political experts have termed the abduction of the passengers as a politically motivated act aiming to pressurize the government to accept the abductors' demands.
"The abductors are anti-government militants and have reportedly conditioned the release of the hostages to the release of more than a dozen terrorists affiliated to the al-Qaida network, Islamic State and the Taliban outfits," political analyst, Nazari Pariani, told Xinhua.
Militants from certain foreign counties have been held in Afghanistan government prisons and the abductors of 31 passengers have reportedly wanted the government to swap the abductees with their comrades languishing in jails, according to the respected analyst who is also the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mandegar newspaper.
However, the families of the abducted people have accused the government of negligence, saying the government has done nothing for the release of their loved ones.
To further push the government, families of the abductees have staged a series of peaceful demonstrations and also arranged sit- ins under a tent near Arg or the Presidential Palace, warning to continue the protest until their loved ones are released.
Rejecting the notion, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said Monday that the government has spent 6 million U.S. dollars on the operations against the abductors and had killed 69 terrorists during the operations to release the abductees, adding that efforts were still underway to secure the safe release of the abductees.
To allay the abductees' families concerns, Afghan government's chief executive Abdullah Abdullah visited the tent of the protesting families last week and assured them of the government's all out efforts to secure the safe release of the kidnapped passengers.
Nevertheless, he refused to give details of the government's efforts towards the release of the kidnapped travelers, saying for the safety of the abductees, he can't go into details.
Meantime, analysts believe the possible swap of prisoners with the abductees would encourage the culture of kidnapping for ransom by anti-government and irresponsible armed groups, which will eventually double the security problems in the militancy-plagued country. According to observers, ending the drama might take more time than initially expected.
"The government should have contacted the abductors and should have understood their demands for the release of their hostages," political watcher and civil society activist, Baqi Samandar, told local media recently.
Criticizing the government for its failure, Samandar said, "If the children of the president, chief executive or the children of the interior minister were abducted instead of the poor passengers, they might have already been released."
Meantime, Interior Minister Noorul Haq Ulumi assured parliament recently that efforts are underway for the safe release of the kidnapped passengers but provided no further details so as to not compromise the safety of the hostages.
