Sahil Saeed kidnap: police reveal details of release

British boy kidnapped in Pakistan nearly two weeks ago is found safe and well after release

Akila Naqqash holds a photo of her son, Sahil Saeed, at home in Oldham after learning of his release by kidnappers in Pakistan. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

The five-year-old British boy kidnapped while on holiday in Pakistan nearly two weeks ago was today found wandering in a field after being released alone at 9am, police said.

Sahil Saeed, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, was snatched from a house in the Punjab region of the country on 4 March, after robbers held his family hostage at gunpoint.

The assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Dave Thompson, said Sahil was released by his hostages in Kharian, about 25 miles (40km) from Jhelum, the town in Punjab where he was kidnapped.

“It’s with some delight and considerable relief that Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, was released at 4.10am GMT [9.10am local time] this morning in Kharian city in Pakistan by his hostage takers,” Thompson said.

“The release was made as a result of a phone call made to his family. 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.

“At this time, I believe he is well, considering the terrible ordeal he would have been through.”

Thompson said Sahil had spoken to his mother, Akila Naqqash, and father, Naqqash Saeed, who are both in the UK.

Asked if the five-year-old had been released after the payment of a ransom, Thompson said: “There are a number of operational issues taking place”.

“I’ve indicated our desire is to bring people to justice,” he said. “Clearly at this stage, I’m not going to discuss the hours and days leading up to this release. So I cannot discuss any specific details about transactions or discussions that have taken place.”

Sahil’s kidnappers were believed to have told his father they wanted £100,000 for his release. Media reports in Pakistan have suggested Sahil was released after the ransom was paid in Europe.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said it could not confirm any ransom was paid.

At a press conference in Pakistan today , the regional police chief, Aslam Tareen, said: “I don’t know about the ransom payment. I don’t know if a ransom was paid here or abroad.”

He said Sahil was well.

“The boy is playing with toys. He doesn’t even know what happened with him.”

Sahil’s grandfather, Raja Basharat, said “we have no information about any ransom”, adding that the kidnapper was an outsider. “No one from our family was involved,” he said.

At the family home in Jhelum, relatives and friends gathered, some embracing in joy, along with a huge contingent of journalists. Sweets were distributed to those inside the compound, the traditional Pakistani way of celebrating.

Sahil was on holiday with his father when robbers broke into the house in Jhelum where they were staying with family and took the boy away.

The British high commission in Islamabad described his recovery as “fantastic news”.

“It brings to an end the traumatic ordeal faced by Sahil Saeed’s family,” said Adam Thompson, the British high commissioner in Islamabad.

“I would like to praise the high level of co-operation between the UK and Pakistani authorities and in particular, I would like to thank the Jhelum police for their role in bringing about the safe return of Sahil.”

Thompson said Sahil’s parents were not together when they spoke to their son, although that was “simply an operational reason as to how we’ve been managing this”.

He said both parents had been “pivotal” to ensuring police were able to carry out inquiries effectively.

A police liaison officer said Akila Naqqash was “overjoyed” to speak to her son.

“For 12 or 13 days, waiting, building hopes up and then hopes going down. She is overjoyed. It is really happy, just really happy.

“They were made aware he had been found safe and well. Mother has spoken on the telephone and spoke to him for some time, a private conversation. He is safe and well.

“But the family do not want to say anything, they want to wait until he comes back.”

Rana Sanaullah, a provincial politician, said there had never before been so much government effort put into a kidnapping case, with Pakistani intelligence involved in the boy’s recovery.

Sanaullah said, without explaining further: “He [Sahil] was safe and sound for the last four to five days. It was just a question of [securing] his custody.”

Last week, Sanaullah mistakenly announced that Sahil had been recovered, mixing up the case with that of another kidnapped boy.

Raiders had struck as Sahil and his father were preparing to take a taxi to the airport for their flight home to the UK. The kidnappers originally set a deadline of midday the next day for the money to be delivered.

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

His family suffered frustrations during the investigation, after Pakistani authorities said on several occasions they were close to securing the boy’s release.

Naqqash Saeed returned to the UK at the start of last week, despite reports that police in Pakistan wanted him to stay in the country as a witness and in case the kidnappers contacted him directly.

Rehman Malik, Pakistan’s interior minister, said Sahil’s father had left Pakistan last week “against our wishes”. He also repeated the allegation that “a family member was involved” in the kidnapping.

Malik indicated that the kidnappers had “let the boy go in a village”.

“Obviously the pressure on them [the kidnappers] was very high,” he said. “All the phones they were using were being monitored.”

It is understood the police were carrying out raids to try to capture the kidnappers.