Mother tells of joy as kidnap son found in Pakistan

Sahil Saeed, who was snatched from a house in the Punjab region on March 4, was found wandering alone in a field in Kharian City yesterday morning following a phone call to family members.

His return to Britain is now being organised by the British High

Commission in Islamabad.

His mother Akila Naqqash, speaking from the family home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, described the moment she found out he had been released.

"It was amazing. At first I thought it was not true.

"My sister-in-law came upstairs saying he has been found. I thought it was a dream. She found out at 4.20am but I needed to hear his voice to believe it. I spoke to him a few hours later.

The 31-year-old added: "He is a five-year-old who has been captured for 13 days. I was worried about the way he is going to speak but the first thing he said was, 'Mummy mummy I've bought some new toys'.

"He was talking as normal. He hasn't mentioned anything about what happened. He was talking about his sisters.

"When he comes back I am going to give him a big kiss and cuddles and keep him happy. "

Rather than travelling out to meet her son in Pakistan, his mum is staying with other family members to await his return.

She said the wait for news had been difficult.

"His sisters do miss him, they are too young to understand. They are too young to understand why he is on the TV. What can you say to a four-year-old? It has been really hard to explain.

"We don't know anything of the circumstances of how he was found. We know nothing.

"The past few weeks have been really hard. I couldn't see his face. I just had to turn the TV off because of all the false information."

Amrana Istikhar, 33, her sister-in-law, said: "We can't say anything about the ransom. We don't know anything about it.

"All we have been doing is praying until he gets here, we will carry on praying. Our prayers have been answered but we will continue until he is here."

Sahil was on holiday with his father Raja Naqqash Saeed in Pakistan when he was snatched. Raiders struck as the pair were preparing to take a taxi to the airport to fly home.

The kidnappers apparently demanded a 100,000 ransom and originally set a deadline of noon the next day .

His family promptly said there was "no way" they could afford any such payment.

After Sahil was taken, several men – including a taxi driver – were arrested.

Numerous reports suggested falsely that the authorities were close to securing the boy's release.

Sahil's mother begged for the safe return of her son, telling the kidnappers at one point: "I just want my son back. All is forgiven, I will forgive you."

Sahil's father returned to the UK at the start of last week, despite reports police in Pakistan wanted him to stay. British police then issued a statement saying he was continuing to assist the ongoing investigation.

Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable Dave Thompson said Sahil was released at 4.10am British time.

"He was released nearby to a school, alone, wandered into a local field and was found by some local residents who looked after him until such time his family found him with the police."

He also praised the "support and co-operation" given by Sahil's mother and father.

Mr Thompson said: "This remains a fast-moving international inquiry. It is led in Pakistan but over the last 12 days there has been considerable support delivered by the Greater Manchester Police to support the safe return of this young boy.

"This still remains a very active criminal investigation and Greater Manchester Police and the Pakistani authorities are still determined to bring people to justice and that will be a high priority in the coming hours, days and weeks."

British High Commissioner in Pakistan Adam Thomson said Sahil was "in good spirits", although tired.

"The top priority for the High Commission now is to ensure he is reunited with his parents as soon as possible and to help with his return to the UK."

Smiling classmates cheered the news of his safe return at a special school assembly at Rushcroft Primary in Oldham and sat cross-legged in rows before singing a song for Sahil. They said prayers thanking God for his safety and gave a deafening "Hip Hip Hooray" to cheer his impending return.