**The mother of a British boy kidnapped at gunpoint in Pakistan has made an emotional plea for his safe return.**Akila Naqqash, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, said she had no idea why five-year-old Sahil Saeed was targeted and she “just wanted him back”.
Sahil and his father had been at a relative’s house in the Punjab city of Jhelum on Wednesday when robbers raided the home and beat family members.
The attackers are said to have demanded £100,000 ransom for Sahil’s return.
Local police have reportedly made one arrest and say they are confident they will find the little boy soon.
The boy’s father, Raja Saeed, had been in Pakistan for two weeks visiting his mother with Sahil.
They were just about to leave for the airport at 2300 local time (1800 GMT) on Wednesday when four men - armed with guns and a grenade - approached the house.
Up to 10 family members inside the house were beaten by the intruders during a six-hour ordeal.
The robbers took household items, believed to be jewellery and money, and fled with the boy, demanding a ransom equivalent to £100,000.
They said they would be back in touch at 0700 GMT, but the boy’s father said he had not heard from them.
Mr Saeed, who has been based in the UK for about seven years, told BBC News his son, who only speaks English, was a child who “loves everyone”.
“I don’t have any money at all. They can take me if they want - just let my son come back,” he said. “I am nothing without him.”
And, speaking at the family’s home in Oldham, the child’s mother, Akila Naqqash, said there was no chance her family would be able to pay the ransom.
“Sahil is a really quiet child - he’s no harm to nobody,” she said.
"Why would they want to take my son What have we done We’ve done nothing wrong. This is a normal holiday. Every family takes a holiday.
“How is he coping with strangers Four grown men. I don’t know what they are doing to him. I just want him back.”
Jane Sheridan, head teacher of Rushcroft Primary School, which Sahil attends, said everyone was “deeply concerned” about his welfare and they were doing all they could to support his family.
“Jhelum itself is not a particularly dangerous place, it’s not a tribal area - it’s a relatively safe part of Pakistan”
Aleem Maqbool, BBC News
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan said the chief of police had told him a taxi driver had been arrested who was expected to provide clues to Sahil’s whereabouts.
Mr Hasan described the kidnapping as a “condemnable act” that has caused the Pakistani government concern.
George Sherriff, a spokesman for the British High Commission in Islamabad, said they were “continually monitoring the situation” and were in touch with Sahil’s family.
The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool said Punjab police were taking this very seriously and a large team was working on the case.
He said officers thought the kidnapping was unlikely to be the result of a family feud or a personal grudge.
Our correspondent said there were isolated incidents of kidnapping in Pakistan by criminal gangs who wanted to make money, occasionally linked to militant groups.
However, there was nothing to suggest this was the case in this kidnapping, he added.
Our correspondent said Jhelum was not in a tribal area and was a relatively safe part of Pakistan, where many British Pakistanis were from.
He said police were confident they would bring the case to a successful conclusion.