THE nightmarish and traumatic episode little Sahil Saeed, a five-year-old British boy, and his family experienced over the past two weeks is going to haunt the innocent boy and the parents for good.

The Quaid had envisaged Pakistan to house and protect people of all races, colours and creeds. With the boy (thanks to his British nationality) having been reunited with his family, what pains me is why every government fails to deliver when it comes to scores of Pakistani Sahils and their parents.

D. M. NAPAR
Karachi

(II)

SAHIL Saeed's recovery is good news for all Pakistanis and British nationals but the efforts made by British authorities for his rescue are admirable and at the same time an eye-opening lesson for our government as it shows how they care for their citizens and to what extend they can go to safeguard their nationals.

The efforts of our police were also not negligible, though these were only because of international pressure. We all know that every day tens of such innocent children are kidnapped in Pakistan but they are never recovered because our authorities do not bother about protection of their own people.

They lack the will to force the police to stop such acts of kidnapping for ransom or for using these children in terrorist activities.

MUNTAZIR MAHDI
Karachi

(III)

IT is indeed a matter of great relief that Sahil Saeed has been recovered unharmed. What has been amazing about this case is the media attention that it has generated both locally and internationally.

Many children are kidnapped in our country but no case is pursued as actively as this one was. The difference was that it involved a British citizen. We are always criticising the West for a host of reasons but we fail to give them credit for the importance they give to the well-being of all their citizens.

The case of Sahil Saeed, a British citizen, despite being of Pakistani origin, was treated with urgency and concern. What can be more reassuring to the citizens of such countries than the fact that their government will always stand by them and lend their fullest support to ensure the safety and welfare of all without any discrimination of race or religion?

Why can't we, the citizens of Pakistan, hope for the same level of support from our government? Had Sahil Saeed been a local lad, from a common family from Jhelum, his file would probably have started gathering dust. To expect the representatives of Pakistan to show sensitivity to our problems is asking for a miracle.

It would not be inappropriate to acknowledge and praise the role of the British High Commission and government that helped secure the release of the kidnapped boy. I hope and pray that one day I can speak proudly about my country too and its role in ensuring equality and justice for all its citizens.

ABBAS HAIDER
Karachi

(IV)

AS a father I am grateful that young Sahil Saeed was recovered safely.

But it saddened me deeply to read that another child, two-year-old Fareeha Shahid, kidnapped at the same time, met a different fate. She belonged to a poor family from Battagram, not from Manchester, and held no foreign nationality.

The same high-ranking officials who fawned over the British child had no time for her. She ended her brief time in this world cruelly strangled in a ditch.

The local police did their best, but lacked the resources showered on the Jhelum case. In the US, such kidnappings are handled by specialists in the FBI.

May I suggest that we establish a similar organisation to handle these incidents? Poor Pakistanis cherish their children just as much as the wealthy and with foreign nationality. It is beyond cruelty to assist the latter and leave the former to bury theirs.

SAAD GUL
Unite States