Pakistan demands extradition of British dissident to face deportation of grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed
Pakistan has told Britain that political dissidents living in the UK must be handed over if it wants Islamabad to accept the deportation of convicted Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed.A senior Pakistani government official told The Telegraph that the UK must “respect the issues that are important to Pakistan” and not use “pressure” and threats against Ahmed’s return.The comments suggest Pakistan is seeking to link any potential deal on Ahmed’s deportation to its long-standing demand for the extradition of several British politicians and activists wanted by Islamabad.
Who is Shabbir Ahmed? ?
Ahmed, 73, known to his victims as “Dad”, was one of the leaders of the Rochdale grooming gang. In 2012 he was found guilty of 30 child rapes and sentenced to 22 years in prison for grooming vulnerable girls as young as 12, supplying them with alcohol and drugs and orchestrating multiple sexual abuses.He was released last week after serving 14 years in prison.Ahmed arrived in the UK from the Pakistani province of Punjab in 1967 at the age of 14 and holds dual British and Pakistani citizenship, but was stripped of his British citizenship in 2016.
Why can’t Ahmed be deported?
Despite losing his British citizenship, Ahmed was not deported under the legal protection of section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971. The clause exempts Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1 January 1973 and settled there, retaining rights originally designed to protect the Windrush generation.Home Minister Shabana Mahmood is considering repealing relevant provisions of the bill, while the interior ministry said all options, including emergency legislation, were still under consideration.
Pakistan’s earlier stance on Ahmed
The latest stance marks a continuation of Pakistan’s previous argument that Ahmed cannot simply be deported because Islamabad no longer considers him a Pakistani national.According to the Daily Telegraph, Pakistani ministers have previously told the UK that although Ahmed was born in Pakistan, he left Pakistan around the age of 13, spent more than 60 years in the UK and renounced his Pakistani citizenship.“He is not one of our nationals,” a Pakistani minister said, adding that while Ahmed’s crime was “inexcusable” it was Britain’s responsibility to deal with him.Pakistan has also refused to take back Ahmed and two other Rochdale training gang leaders because they had renounced their Pakistani citizenship.
Islamabad seeks extradition of dissidents
According to the Daily Telegraph, Pakistan is currently asking the UK to extradite several political dissidents and activists living in the UK. These include former Imran Khan aide Shahzad Akbar, journalist and former army officer Adil Raja, and London-based founder of the Muttahida Qaumi movement Altaf Hussain.“There are people using British soil to destabilize Pakistan,” the unnamed official told The Telegraph, accusing Britain of applying “double standards” on the grounds of human rights and freedom of expression protections while rejecting Pakistan’s extradition request.The official also claimed that talks over Ahmed’s future had been going on for almost a year and claimed that Britain would threaten to restrict visas and cut aid if Pakistan continued to refuse his return.However, Pakistan said it was willing to think “outside the box” and “beyond normal procedures” if both sides addressed each other’s concerns, The Telegraph reported.Britain is also considering diplomatic measures, including possible visa sanctions, although these are seen as a last resort if negotiations fail.
