LONDON: Pakistan is demanding the extradition of political dissidents from the UK if it wants to deport freed Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabbir Ahmed.Britain’s Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to explain on Monday how she plans to change the law to allow him to be deported.Ahmed, 73, who moved to Britain from Pakistan Punjab in 1976 at the age of 14, was convicted in 2012 of 30 crimes including rape, sexual assault and trafficking of girls as young as 12. He held dual British and Pakistani citizenship when convicted.The UK stripped him of his British citizenship in 2016, yet was unable to deport him because, having arrived in the UK before 1971, he is exempt from deportation due to Section 7 of the Immigration Act, 1971. But even after changing the law, Pakistan is refusing to adopt it.An official told the Daily Telegraph, “Pakistan cannot be forced to agree to terms and conditions that are suitable only for Britain. The Pakistan you are dealing with now is not the Pakistan you worked with a few years ago. It is a very different kind of government, which will not be blackmailed.”A source close to the Pakistan government told TOI, “Pakistan is in no mood to accept the demands of the British government because Shabbir has been living in Britain for 60 years. He was just born in Pakistan. As far as we are concerned, he is a British citizen and his crimes are a matter for Britain. They have done the right thing by prosecuting him. If anything, they could have given him a worse punishment. This is not some filth you throw at our doorstep.” Can.”Pakistan’s demands also include extradition of dissidents by Britain which Islamabad wants. These include Shehzad Akbar, cabinet minister under former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, YouTuber and former Pakistani Army officer Adil Raja and Altaf Hussain, London-based founder of the Muttahida Qaumi opposition movement.“Some people are using British soil to destabilize Pakistan, which is in violation of many British laws, but Britain has done nothing about them,” the official told the Telegraph.Britain is unlikely to hand over any of these political dissidents, which would lead to a stalemate. Britain could impose visa restrictions or withdraw foreign aid from Pakistan, which the Tories are pushing for.