British boy's ordeal is over but police try to unpick riddle of his abduction

THE five-year-old British boy snatched by gunmen in Pakistan was returned to safety yesterday, as the mystery deepened over who was behind his kidnap.

• An overjoyed Akila Naqqash holds a picture of Sahil, who was freed yesterday. Picture: Getty Images

Sahil Saeed was said to be "safe and well" at the British High Commission after being picked up from a field where he was discovered by locals walking alone and barefoot.

He was found in a small village in Punjab province, some 20 miles south-east of Jhelum city, where armed robbers seized him from his grandmother's house on 4 March during a holiday with his father.

Sahil's mother Akila Naqqash, speaking from the family home in Oldham, Lancashire, described the moment she found out he had been released as "amazing".

Pakistani authorities claimed someone in the family had been involved in the abduction – a charge the family denies.

Mystery also surrounds the circumstances of Sahil's release after a Pakistani minister suggested his father Raja Naqqash Saeed had paid a 100,000 ransom to the kidnappers.

Mrs Naqqash denied claims her husband was involved or that they were estranged, saying: "Me and my husband are still together, happily married after seven years. All the speculation has been false. It makes me angry all the stories. I have had no (phone] contact with him. Hopefully, he will be bringing back my little boy, but we don't know where he is."

Revealing how she first heard her son had been found, Mrs Naqqash said: "It was amazing. At first I thought it was not true."

She added: "I talked to him on the phone, my little boy. It reassured me that he is safe and he's been released from the kidnappers. That's enough for me."

She said she was "gobsmacked" to hear her son's voice again.

Mrs Naqqash said her son seemed unharmed by his ordeal and had been asking about his sisters and other family members during the brief phone chat.

She said: "He was going on and on and on about his toys – just a normal little boy."

When asked about the whereabouts of her husband, she said: "I don't know where he is at the moment. We have not heard from him. He is probably overjoyed.

"It was really difficult at the beginning but we have been trying to think positive, just praying day and night. Mosques, churches, all religions have been praying for him."

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

Mr Malik said the boy's father had returned to Britain last week against Pakistan's wishes.

The family initially denied Mr Saeed had left Pakistan. But Greater Manchester Police said yesterday that he was, indeed, in Britain and was co-operating with authorities. Assistant chief constable David Thompson said: "There's still a very active criminal investigation and Greater Manchester Police and the Pakistani authorities are still determined to bring people to justice."

He added: "The release was made as the result of a phone call made to his family.

"He was released to a school alone, wandered into a field and was found by local residents.

"At this time, I believe he is well, considering the ordeal he has been through."

Mr Thompson said that Sahil was being looked after by members of his family in Pakistan and had had the chance to speak on the phone to his mother and father.

He added: "The reason for the father's return was very much about ensuring that the release of his child could be secured."

Sahil's family denied a ransom deal had been done, with his grandfather Raja Mohammed Basharat saying: "According to my information, no ransom has been paid."

British High Commissioner Adam Thomson expressed relief the boy had been found and thanked the 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," he said.

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

Mr Rehman said: "There was no sign of depression on his face.

"He was playing with toys at a government rest house when I examined him."

International diplomacy and one Oldham family's heartache

THE events surrounding the abduction of Sahil Saeed:

3 March:

• Armed robbers break into a house in Jhelum, in the Punjab, at 11pm and Sahil and his family are subjected to a six-hour ordeal.

4 March:

• Sahil, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, is kidnapped while he and his father are staying with relatives at the house.

• His father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, says the robbers are demanding a 100,000 ransom for the boy's safe return.

• A man is arrested in connection with the kidnapping.

5 March:

• Sahil's relatives deny any involvement in his abduction amid suggestions that detectives are investigating the possibility of an "inside job".

• The kidnappers reportedly speak to Mr Saeed on the telephone and tell him "the boy is with us and we will call you later".

6 March:

• The prime minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani, assures Mr Saeed the government is making an all-out effort to rescue Sahil.

8 March:

• Mr Saeed returns to the UK.

12 March:

• Greater Manchester Police say Mr Saeed is working with them to try to recover Sahil.

16 March:

• British High Commission in Islamabad confirms that Sahil has been released in Pakistan and is safe.