Kidnapped boy released unhurt after two weeks

KIDNAPPERS released a five-year-old British boy unharmed almost two weeks after abducting him from his grandparents’ house in central Pakistan, British and Pakistani officials said.

A senior provincial official said a ransom was paid for the freedom of Sahil Saeed, who is of Pakistani origin, but he did not identify who abducted the boy and received the money.

Saeed was found in a small village in Punjab province, some 30 kilometres southeast of Jhelum city where armed robbers seized him on March 4, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Pakistani authorities have said someone in the family was involved in the abduction — a charge the family denies. One relative also claimed yesterday that no ransom was paid.

British High Commissioner Adam Thomson expressed relief the boy had been found and thanked Pakistani authorities for their co-operation in the search.

“This is fantastic news that brings to an end the traumatic ordeal faced by Sahil and his family,” Thomson said.

The boy was examined by a doctor, Hafeezur Rehman, who said he looked “healthy and happy”.

“There was no sign of depression on his face,” Rehman said. “He was playing with toys at a government rest house when I examined him.”

Senior police official Mohammad Aslam Tareen told reporters the British High Commission has custody of the boy and has been communicating with his parents.

Malik, the interior minister, did not reveal the identity of the kidnappers but said someone from the family was involved in the abduction, echoing a charge made by several other Pakistani officials.

Malik said the boy’s father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, returned to Britain last week against Pakistan’s wishes.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said a ransom had been paid but the boy’s father was not a suspect in the abduction, saying he “is not involved in this”.