Pakistan has refused Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's pleas to take back a Rochdale grooming gang leader who was born in the country. During a meeting on Thursday, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, suggested there was no legal statute that requires the transfer of child rapists, such as Shabir Ahmed, who served 14 years of a 22-year prison sentence for 30 child rape offences.
No legal mechanism
It is understood that Miliband directly referenced Ahmed, 73, in the meeting. Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has also announced she will change an immigration law to close a loophole that prevented the UK from deporting him. However, according to sources briefed on the discussions, Pakistani officials said "we currently do not have any legislation or formal mechanism under which we can take him back".
Ahmed, who came to the UK from Pakistan in the late 1960s, was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham who were convicted of exploiting, abusing and raping girls as young as 12 at two takeaway restaurants.
Cost to the Ministry of Justice
He was stripped of his British citizenship, however, the child rapist cannot be deported due to a 1971 law which bans the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago. The Home Office said this act "protected many individuals caught up in the Windrush crisis", but Mahmood intends to change the law.
It is understood that Ahmed is costing the Ministry of Justice thousands of pounds through accommodation, electronic tagging and 24/7 supervision at a bail hostel.
Pakistan's position
According to a source speaking to The Telegraph, Pakistani officials believed they had consistently worked with the UK regarding immigration, deportation and crime. But they said that Ahmed’s case was seen as "different" because he is a convicted child rapist, and there is "no treaty between the UK and Pakistan to exchange or extradite sex convicts".
The Pakistani side has reportedly agreed to consider the British request, after Miliband's repeated pleas, but also asked the UK for a reciprocal understanding. Dar did not address what Pakistan's concerns may be, but the country has previously asked that, in exchange for Ahmed, the UK must hand over dissidents, which means those who have criticised the country's doctrines or policies.
Bilateral relations
A formal statement on the talks said the two sides "reviewed the full spectrum of Pakistan-United Kingdom bilateral relations and agreed to establish a structured mechanism for formal talks between the two foreign ministries to cover all areas of co-operation, to further strengthen bilateral co-operation and regularly review progress in key areas".
Pakistan has previously warned it would stop taking back illegal migrants if Britain tried to deport Ahmed. Pakistan officials are reportedly angered by suggestions that the UK could impose sanctions, including visa bans and cuts to foreign aid, in response to the situation.
