Pakistan 'closing in on kidnappers'

Pakistani authorities are under increasing pressure to find a five year old British boy who was kidnapped while visiting relatives.

Gilani, who telephoned Sahil Saeed's father on Saturday to assure him of his full support, also directed police to provide the family with security.

Kidnappers snatched the boy last week from his grandmother's house in Jhelum, a town about 100 kilometres south of the capital Islamabad. They also stole jewellery and cash, and demanded a $US120,000 ($A133,230) ransom.

Gilani called the boy's father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, and "assured him of his government's full support and cooperation in recovering his child," an official in the prime minister's office told AFP.

Police working round the clock

Senior police official Raja Mohammad Tahir said police were working flat-out on the case and that he would be able to provide "good news" soon.

However, he said he could not disclose further details as this might compromise safety and efforts to recover the child.

In Oldham, northern England, Sahil's mother, Akila Naqqash, made an emotional plea for her son's safe return.

'All is forgiven' if child returns safe

"I just want my son back. All is forgiven, I will forgive you," she said.

"You may have children yourself. I forgive you."

She added: "It's just a nightmare. I'm not sleeping at all. It's worse at night when I have no-one to comfort me.

"I see images flashing through my head about what is he doing, what is he wearing."

An AFP reporter saw several policemen deployed around Saeed's house and there was talk of a visit to the house by the provincial chief minister, but this was cancelled because of bad weather.

The boy was kidnapped by men who stormed the house armed with guns and grenades, subjecting the family to a six-hour ordeal shortly before Sahil and his Pakistani father were preparing to take a taxi to the airport and fly home.

Police confident of finding missing child

Police arrested the taxi driver who had been booked to take them to the airport and said they were confident of recovering the child from the gang. A Pakistani diplomat also said police had made several arrests.

Triggering vigorous denials from the family, Pakistan's high commissioner to London suggested the kidnapping could have been "a sort of inside job."

Saeed vehemently denied that any of his relatives might be involved.

No family links in kidnap: father

"It is not correct. Nobody from my family is involved in the robbery and kidnapping," Saeed told AFP.

Quoting unnamed sources, Sky News said on its website that the father received a brief phone call from the kidnappers on Friday saying: "The boy is with us and we call you later."

Authorities were still trying to trace the call, Sky said.

Kidnappings of Westerners are rare in Pakistan, but criminal gangs - some connected to Islamist militant networks - often abduct locals for ransom.

Other kidnappings are blamed on family disputes.

In London, a Foreign Office official said consular staff were supporting the family in Britain and Pakistan, and called for Sahil's swift release.

"Pakistani police are conducting vigorous enquiries and we know Sahil's case is being overseen at the highest levels in the Pakistani government," the official said.