British boy kidnapped in Pakistan freed unharmed

"We are very happy. Thank God he is safe and sound," said Raja Basharat, the grand-uncle of five-year-old Sahil Saeed.

Pakistan will hand the boy over to the British embassy, Aslam Tarin, regional police chief, told a news conference.

Sweets were handed out at the home of the boy's relatives in the town of Jhelum after they received a call from the kidnappers that he had been left in the nearby garrison town of Kharian.

Tarin said Sahil was "playing with the police."

Gunmen held several of Sahil's family members at gunpoint for several hours and took away 150,000 rupees (1,158 pounds) and some gold during the kidnapping, and later demanded a 10 million rupee (78,147 pound) ransom.

Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Reuters an "international gang of kidnappers" was responsible.

"We are trying to bust this gang with the help of other countries," he said, without elaborating.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said he suspected some relatives were involved in the abduction, which made big news in the British and Pakistani media.

But Tarin said: "We have found no evidence of involvement of his father or any of his family members in it (the crime)." The father has returned to the United Kingdom, he added.

"It is fantastic news which brings an end to the traumatic ordeal faced by Sahil and his family," the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, Adam Thomson, said in a statement.

"I would like to praise the high-level of cooperation between U.K. 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."

Kidnapping is a major problem in Pakistan and many of the crimes go unreported. Local media said on Tuesday that the dead body of a two-year-old Pakistani girl who was kidnapped for ransom was found near the northwestern city of Peshawar.

(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider and Zeeshan Haider in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Michael Georgy)