Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 17, 2010

JHELUM, Pakistan: A five-year-old British boy kidnapped at gunpoint during a holiday in Pakistan nearly two weeks ago was waiting to be reunited with his mother after being safely recovered yesterday. Sahil Saeed was taken from his grandmother's house in the town of Jhelum, about 100 km south of Islamabad, in the early hours of March 4 while preparing to leave with his Pakistani father to fly back to Britain. "I am simply delighted that Sahil has been released safe and sound. I know that his family must be
overjoyed following almost two weeks of terrible anxiety and uncertainty," said British High Commissioner Adam Thomson.

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," he added, saying that although a "little tired", Sahil was "in good spirits". British officials gave no details on exactly how he had been recovered, saying he was in the care of Pakistani authorities and his uncle, and that the British consul was with him. "There remains an active police investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment on on
going operational issues," Thomson said.

Pakistani police said the kidnappers had dropped off the child in a field yesterday, allowing officers to recover him, saying investigations were ongoing but that so far no arrests had been made. But provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Reuters an "international gang of kidnappers" was responsible for the abduction of the boy. Pakistan had received information that European countries have identified suspects, and Pakistanis have been arrested here, he said, adding that a ransom was paid in a Europe
an country.

Relatives said they were delighted that Sahil was safe and vigorously denied repeated claims that the kidnapping was an inside job. Sahil's mother, Akila Naqqash, who had begged for his release, said her son can expect a "big party" when he returns home to Oldham, in northern England, although it was not immediately clear when that would be. "I talked to him on the phone and I thought, 'that's my little boy', that's enough for me," she told BBC radio. "The way he spoke to me was normal, like a normal littl
e boy." She said he had asked about his sisters and remarked how much he was missing his favourite toy. "I am just waiting for my little boy to come back. No more crying, I just want to have a big party," she added.

Celebrating relatives in Pakistan handed out sweets in Jhelum to friends, neighbours and family members offering their congratulations. "I am thankful to God that he has been recovered. We are so happy," his grandmother Tasneem Bashir told AFP. Relatives said Sahil was taken by robbers who stole jewellery and cash and demanded a $120,000 ransom.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik reiterated yesterday that the family could have been behind the abduction but police said there was no evidence that relatives had been involved. "Presently, we don't know about the suspects or culprits," Aslam Tareen, regional police chief, told reporters. "He was released to us. We were informed about the whereabouts and he was left there... in a field in Denga village," he said. "He is quite well, he is playing, we have arranged some toys for him," said Tareen, ad
ding that he did not know whether a ransom was paid.

Doctors confirmed the boy was fit and well, saying he was under police protection and accompanied by British officials. Kidnappings of Westerners are rare in Pakistan but abductions of locals are common. They are often related to family quarrels, love affairs, property disputes or simple quests for money - particularly for the wealthier victims - by criminal gangs, some of whom are connected to militant networks. Local media said yesterday that the dead body of a two-year-old Pakistani girl who was kidnapp
ed for ransom was found near the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Sahil's Pakistani father had said the kidnappers stormed the house armed with guns and grenades, subjecting the family to a six-hour ordeal while he and his son were preparing to take a taxi to the airport and fly home. Malik said the boy's father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, returned to Britain last week against Pakistan's wishes. The family initially denied he had left the country. But Manchester police said yesterday that he was indeed in Britain and was cooperating with authorities. "There's still a very acti
ve criminal investigation and Greater Manchester Police and the Pakistani authorities are still determined to bring people to justice," said Assistant Chief Constable David Thompson.

Meanwhile, the parents and families of children missing far longer than Sahil, with none of the diplomatic support or pledges of assistance from the government and police, were left wishing for more. According to combined statistics from Pakistan's four provinces, 240 people were kidnapped across the country in the first two months of the year alone - with only 74 of them recovered so far.

When six-year-old Mahnoor Fatima disappeared, her mother's world collapsed. But she was too poor and abductions too common for Pakistani police to do much more than register the case. So when Shamin Akhter Butt discovered senior officials were working round the clock to free Sahil, she rushed to his home in the vain hope of attracting attention to her plight. "Despite our cries and tears these last six months, nothing has happened. Why isn't the same attention given to my daughter?" asked Butt through tear
s as she stood on the lawn of the British boy's family home this month.

Mahnoor disappeared while playing outside on Oct 6 last year, but unlike Sahil, whose overjoyed family heard yesterday he had been released, she has never been seen again. "This shows the difference between rich and poor. No one even came to my house to console me... Everything is done here for the rich and the British but nothing for Pakistanis and the poor," she told AFP by telephone yesterday.

In Karachi, Mohammad Masroor, a sales executive with a local firm, said he welcomed Sahil's release, but was desperately worried about his brother Irfan Ali, 22, who was kidnapped when he went out to run errands. "Other poor Pakistanis should be helped in the same way as the authorities helped that British family," Masroor told AFP. "We searched for him the whole night. I inquired about him from relatives and searched hospitals but didn't find him. Then we lodged a report with the police about his disappea
rance," he said.

The next day, the family received an anonymous call demanding five million rupees ($59,500) for his release. "That call was a bombshell for the family, for our mother in particular. We were helpless as the amount was far beyond our reach," he said. Police apparently believe kidnappers are holding Irfan somewhere in thick forest in northern Sindh province, leaving police "helpless" in accessing what has become a virtual no-go area for law enforcement authorities. "The whole family is extremely disturbed, bu
t I have put all my savings together and borrowed from relatives to make it one million rupees. I believe Allah will help me in getting my brother released soon.

In Peshawar, Tariq Ali's 15-year-old son was kidnapped last August but he is still without news. "Our rulers don't consider the children of Pakistani citizens human beings. They don't act promptly as they do if a foreigner goes missing," said Ali, who owns a bakery. His son Hashim Ali, a student in ninth grade was kidnapped in broad daylight just after leaving home for a nearby playground. "I've submitted applications to every government office ranging from the governor to the inspector general of police b
ut nothing has happened. "But if a child with another nationality gets kidnapped in Pakistan then they do the maximum and even visit their homes," Ali said. "They don't even ask about locals and Pakistanis who are being kidnapped every day. I have lost zest for life without my son but nobody cares," said Ali, the wrinkles on his face deepening into furrows. - Agencies