Pakistan blames UK for Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed’s crimes
Pakistan has accused Britain of allowing the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming ring to commit multiple rapes and sexual offenses against girls.
The blame for Pakistan-born Shabir Ahmed’s criminality lies in the United Kingdom, where he “grew up, grew up, was well-groomed and unfortunately spoiled”, claimed Tahir Andrabi, the country’s foreign affairs spokesman.
England wants to send 73-year-old Ahmed, who was released from prison on license two weeks ago after serving 14 years of a 22-year prison sentence for raping 30 children, back to the country of his birth.
This week, Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood introduced new legislation that could pave the way for deporting him, and the government also warned Pakistan would threaten visa restrictions if it did not take him back.
But Mr Andrabi told the BBC that Ahmed, who came to Britain 60 years ago, should be dealt with under UK law and insisted Pakistan had “no connection with this matter”.
He said publicly for the first time that his government would not take back the criminal.
“His heinous crimes require serious introspection rather than a search for extraneous reasons,” he said.
“The person concerned is a British national who has spent his entire adult life in the United Kingdom and has been duly convicted by a British court for heinous crimes committed on British soil.
“Any decision regarding his release and the supervision of his ordinary legal status falls solely within the jurisdiction of the competent British authorities and must be dealt with in accordance with UK law.
“Regardless of where one is born, the responsibility lies with where one is raised, nurtured, nurtured and, unfortunately, pampered.”
He added: “We cannot be associated with any decision regarding the individual’s release or subsequent treatment under British law.”
Separately, a senior Pakistani government official said: Times his country would not be bullied into taking Ahmed back by Britain.
Meanwhile, Ahmed moved out after the location of his home in Accrington, Lancashire, was revealed on social media.
Ahmed is subject to a number of license conditions, including staying in approved accommodation.
Sarah Smith, Labor MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, who called for him to be removed from the town, said: “First of all, I am disgusted that he is here and I join other MP colleagues in calling for a much wider exclusion zone so he is not placed in Lancashire or the North West.
“He must be deported as soon as possible and I am pleased that the government has stepped in to secure this. My first thoughts are with his victims. His release will bring back unimaginable trauma to the women whose lives were forever changed by his sickening crimes.”
Ahmed cannot return to his old home address in Oldham and is also excluded from parts of Rochdale.
Ms Mahmood wants to amend the Immigration and Asylum Act to remove immunity under the Immigration Act 1971, which prevents Ahmed from being deported.
But Islamabad will have to agree to take him back, and the government has stated that Pakistan may be threatened with visa restrictions to take him back.
Pakistan refuses to take him back, claiming that he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship; England opposes this claim. Authorities say he may have torn up his passport but had not fully completed the process to terminate his citizenship.
It is understood that Britain has been in negotiations with Pakistan over Ahmed’s deportation for a year. It was reported that Pakistan requested the extradition of two political opponents from the UK in exchange for taking Ahmed.
