The family of a five-year-old British boy snatched by gun- wielding raiders in Pakistan have angrily insisted that the kidnap was no "inside job".

Several men - including a taxi driver - have been arrested in connection with the abduction of Sahil postcard printing Saeed, who was taken on Wednesday from his grandmother's house in the Punjab region.

The boy's mother, Akila Naqqash, and aunt, Amrana Iftikhar, spoke out after Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the Pakistani High Commissioner in the UK, said there was "a possibility of someone in the family having some sort of knowledge".

Breaking down in tears at the family home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, Ms Iftikhar said: "We are such a close family, no family member could do this to a child, not our family."

Ms Naqqash spoke of the growing frustration for relatives as they wait for news. She said: "We are getting no answers. How are they treating him? Is he eating? He is just a little boy, what has he done wrong?" The armed raiders, wielding guns and grenades, apparently subjected the family in Pakistan to a six-hour ordeal after breaking into the house in Jhelum. The attackers are said to have demanded a Pounds 100,000 ransom for the boy's return.

Mr Hasan told GMTV that detectives were looking at the possibility of whether the kidnap was "a sort of inside job".

But speaking later on ITV News he appeared to distance himself from the comments, saying: "I did not say that it is an inside job done by the family, I said somebody nearby must have informed those criminals and they must be in league with them. For example, we are suspecting the driver who brought them home or anybody relating to him could have done it.

"Although there have been leads, there have been arrests, and the taxi driver has been arrested and he is being Cartier Replica Watches questioned and there are other leads also, which tend to certain telephone calls. I can't tell you about the whereabouts of those telephone calls for the safety of the child or I can't name the persons who have been arrested."

Ms Naqqash begged the British Government for their help as she renewed her bid to get her little boy back.

She said: "I need the help of the Government in the UK, they have not responded to us about what stage they are at and how they are going to help us.

"He must be scared now. I am pleading, please just help us."

Ms Naqqash, 31, previously said there was "no way" her family could afford the six-figure ransom on his head.

His great-uncle, Matlub Ahmed, 55, who also ruled out any family involvement, said they had not heard from the kidnappers but were in regular contact with his nephew, Raja Naqqash Saeed, Sahil's father.

He added: "We are all praying to bring that kid back. His mother has been crying all night."

Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister and MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said police were following "strong leads". Yesterday he told BBC Breakfast: "This is the number one priority for the Foreign Office in Pakistan but the focus is still on the police operation."

The British High Commission was unable to provide details of the paper bag printing arrests in Pakistan yesterday morning.

Sahil's father, Raja Naqqash Saeed, who was described by the family as "hysterical" after t
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