Diplomatic leverage needed to deport Rochdale ringleader
Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gangs, was convicted of 30 counts of child rape and released after serving just 14 years. He now walks free in the UK, while his victims, some as young as 12, feel frightened and unsafe. The government has been unable to deport him despite his British citizenship being stripped, leaving him with only Pakistani nationality.
Pakistan has refused to take Ahmed back. He has attempted to evade deportation by destroying his Pakistani passport, though passports are easily replaced. The real issue is whether the UK is willing to use its diplomatic leverage to force Pakistan to accept him.
Potential diplomatic measures
The Home Secretary has suggested threatening visa restrictions. The UK granted more than 200,000 visas to Pakistani nationals in the past year. Cutting these could be an effective tool. Additionally, the UK gives Pakistan hundreds of millions of pounds in foreign aid, including £90 million on a family planning program. Threatening to scrap this aid could pressure Pakistan to cooperate.
Other measures include taxing remittances sent by Pakistani nationals in the UK, which amount to billions of pounds, or reversing permission for Pakistan International Airlines to operate to the UK. The UK has not even summoned Pakistan's high commissioner to demand an explanation.
Broader foreign policy lessons
Former diplomat Ameer Kotecha argues that the UK must use its diplomatic clout to deliver concrete outcomes on domestic priorities. The merger of the foreign ministry and development department in 2020 was intended to ensure aid supports foreign policy objectives, but the UK continues to give taxpayer money to regimes that refuse to take back their nationals who commit heinous crimes.
This is not an isolated case. Pakistan has also refused to take back other convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleaders, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan. The government has not disclosed how many convicted grooming gang perpetrators have been deported. Kotecha calls for a more uncompromising foreign policy to deliver hardheaded outcomes in the national interest.
