Police officials stand outside what they said was the residence of an Italian who has been kidnapped, in Multan January 20, 2012.—Reuters

MULTAN: Police in Kot Addu have arrested four people in connection with last week's kidnapping of two Western aid workers, local police officials told Reuters on Monday.

Gunmen stormed the workers' residence in the town located in Punjab province and drove away with the two aid workers —an Italian national, and another police believe to be a German national.

The provincial police chief said that the aid workers, who were working on a project in southern Punjab, are being held for ransom.

“That is all we can confirm, that they were abducted for ransom. At the moment, we cannot provide any more details or say anything about who is behind it,” Javed Iqbal told reporters in Lahore.

Answering a question regarding Shahbaz Taseer and US national Warren Weinstein, both of them kidnapped from Lahore some time ago, Iqbal said security agencies had been working for their release.

He said the kidnappers of Taseer and Weinstein were demanding hefty ransom amounts along with some other terms.

He said matters were being sorted out and soon the two would be released.