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Police 'closing in' on kidnappers | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Police in Pakistan are closing in on the kidnappers of a five-year-old British boy, the Pakistani Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, has said. | |
Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, was snatched by armed robbers on Wednesday while visiting relatives with his father. | Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, was snatched by armed robbers on Wednesday while visiting relatives with his father. |
Four police officers in Pakistan have also been suspended over the way the kidnap was handled. | |
The police did not initially respond to the family's emergency call to "Rescue 15", the Pakistani equivalent of 999. | |
Mr Malik claimed Sahil had been taken by someone "very close to the family". | |
'We are near to you' | |
He told the BBC: "There's somebody who was very close to the family, because [of] the way the situation has happened, the way the abduction has happened, the way the entry has been made, the way the conduct was done during that whole operation. | |
"So we have certain leads which I would not like to discuss but a warning to those abductors - leave the boy because we are very near to you." | |
Mr Malik visited Sahil's father Raja Saeed on Sunday and told him they were closing in on the culprits. | |
Sahil Saeed was taken by robbers after a raid on his grandmother's home | |
Mr Malik said the kidnap was "humiliating" for Pakistan, and the captors would be made an "example of". | |
Sahil was taken from his grandmother's home in the Punjab city of Jhelum as he prepared to take a taxi to the airport for his return flight to the UK. | Sahil was taken from his grandmother's home in the Punjab city of Jhelum as he prepared to take a taxi to the airport for his return flight to the UK. |
The attackers are said to have demanded a £100,000 ransom for his return. | The attackers are said to have demanded a £100,000 ransom for his return. |
On Saturday, Sahil's mother Akila Naqqas pleaded for his safe return, saying she would forgive his son's captors if they released him. | On Saturday, Sahil's mother Akila Naqqas pleaded for his safe return, saying she would forgive his son's captors if they released him. |
She also said Sahil had never been apart from either herself or her husband. | She also said Sahil had never been apart from either herself or her husband. |
"It's just a nightmare. I'm not sleeping at all," she said. | "It's just a nightmare. I'm not sleeping at all," she said. |
"It's worse at night when I have no-one to comfort me. | "It's worse at night when I have no-one to comfort me. |
"All we can do is just pray for him." | "All we can do is just pray for him." |
It is understood several men, including a taxi driver, have been arrested in Pakistan. | It is understood several men, including a taxi driver, have been arrested in Pakistan. |