March 16, 2010 - A young British boy seized at gunpoint during a family holiday in Pakistan was freed this morning after the reported payment of a ransom to his kidnappers.

Sahil Saeed, 5, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, was picked up in a field 20 miles from the Punjabi town of Jhelum, where he was abducted from his grandmother's house on March 4 by an armed gang who demanded £100,000 for his release.

Sahil had had his hair cropped short and his shoes were missing but he was said to be in good health and spirits.

His mother, Akila Naqqash, spoke to him from the family home in Oldham shortly after his release and said that he was more worried about when he was going to be reunited with his favourite Sportacus toy.

"He was going on and on about his toys and his sisters," she said. "Just a normal little boy."

Aslam Tareen, the regional police chief, said that family members had received a call early this morning to say where the boy had been dropped off and police officers recovered him soon after.

"He is in good health. He is now playing at the police station where he is being kept," he said.

The boy's release sparked celebrations in Jhelum and back home in Oldham, but left many questions unanswered.

Sahil's father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, had been on holiday with his son at the time of the abduction and unexpectedly returned to the UK late last week.  More