Celebrations start after return of little kidnap victim

SAHIL Saeed was yesterday enjoying his first full day back home since being freed from his two-week kidnap ordeal in Pakistan.

The five-year-old arrived in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with his father on Thursday night to a rapturous reception from relatives. A home-made banner saying "Welcome Sahil" hung from windows outside the terraced house, with steel barriers surrounding the property to keep back the massed media.

Sahil made a brief appearance after his arrival, hiding his face as he was held in his mother Akila Naqqash's arms outside the home.

The schoolboy was snatched on 4 March by gunmen during a holiday in Pakistan with his father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, and other relatives. He was released on Tuesday and found wandering in a field.

Last night, his aunt, Naila Wasseem, and great-uncle, Mushtaq Raja, said the family was "overjoyed" to have him back.

Relatives dashed in and out of the house, bringing food in big steel pans for the celebrations.

Ms Wasseem said: "We are ecstatic, everybody is over the moon. Everybody, for 13 days, all we have done is non-stop praying. Now the mood's totally changed."