Freed grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed is living in a hostel just 15 miles from where he preyed on teenage girls – as Pakistan officially refuses to accept his deportation. The 73-year-old, head of the Rochdale gang that abused girls as young as 12, was released on licence this month after serving 22 years in prison.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told the BBC: “The government of Pakistan has no connection whatsoever with this matter.” He said Ahmed must be dealt with under UK laws, adding: “Any decision regarding his release … falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the competent British authorities.”
“Pakistan refuses to accept freed grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed as UK pushes for deportation.”
Ahmed came to the UK in the late 1960s and had dual British-Pakistani citizenship until his UK passport was stripped after his 2012 conviction for multiple rape and sexual offences. He was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants.
Calls for his deportation have mounted, but the Immigration Act 1971 bars removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973 and have lived in the UK for five years. The Home Office has acknowledged that removing Ahmed depends on Pakistan accepting him.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said this week the 1971 Act “should not be used as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed”. Downing Street insisted on Thursday that talks with Pakistan about his removal were ongoing. The UK government has proposed an amendment to strip foreign criminals of those protections.
Andrabi urged “serious introspection” over the crimes, saying: “Regardless of where he was born, the onus lies on where he grew up, was raised, groomed, and unfortunately spoiled.”
The standoff leaves Ahmed, now housed at Highfield House, free in Britain while Pakistan denies any responsibility.
