Pakistan has told Britain that it should hand over political dissidents living in Britain if it wants Islamabad to accept the deportation of convicted Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabbir Ahmed.A senior Pakistani government official told The Telegraph that the UK should “respect the issues that matter to Pakistan” rather than “hand-wringing” and resorting to threats over Ahmed’s return.The comments indicate that Pakistan wants to link any potential agreement on Ahmed’s deportation to its long-standing demands for the extradition of several UK-based political figures and activists wanted by Islamabad.
Who is Shabbir Ahmed? ?
Ahmed, 73, known to his victims as “Daddy”, was one of the leaders of a Rochdale grooming gang. He was convicted of 30 child rape offenses in 2012 and sentenced to 22 years in prison for grooming vulnerable girls under the age of 12, supplying them with alcohol and drugs and conspiring to repeatedly sexually abuse them.He was released last week after serving 14 years of his sentence.Ahmed arrived in Britain from Pakistan’s Punjab province in 1967 at the age of 14 and held dual British-Pakistani citizenship before he was stripped of his British citizenship in 2016.
Why can’t Ahmed be deported?
Despite losing his British citizenship, Ahmed has not been deported due to legal protection under Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971. This provision exempts Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1 January 1973 and originally settled there, preserving rights to protect the Windrush generation.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is considering repealing relevant provisions of the Act, while the Home Office has said all options, including emergency legislation, are under consideration.
Pakistan’s earlier stand on Ahmed
The latest position continues Pakistan’s earlier argument that Ahmed cannot be deported simply because Islamabad no longer considers him a Pakistani citizen.According to The Telegraph, Pakistani ministers previously told Britain that although Ahmed was born in Pakistan, he left Britain at the age of about 13, has spent more than six decades in Britain and has renounced his Pakistani citizenship.“He is not our national,” a Pakistani minister was quoted as saying, adding that although Ahmed’s crimes were “inexcusable”, it was Britain’s responsibility to deal with him.Pakistan has also refused to take back Ahmed and two other Rochdale grooming gang leaders because they had renounced their Pakistani citizenship.
Islamabad wants extradition of dissidents
According to The Telegraph, Pakistan is now demanding the extradition of several political dissidents and activists living in Britain. These include Imran Khan’s former aide Shahzad Akbar, journalist and former army officer Adil Raja and London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder Altaf Hussain.“Some people are using British soil to destabilize Pakistan,” the unnamed official told The Telegraph. He accused Britain of applying “double standards” by citing protection of human rights and freedom of expression when rejecting extradition requests from Pakistan.The official also claimed that negotiations over Ahmed’s future had been going on for almost a year and alleged that Britain had threatened visa restrictions and aid cuts if Pakistan continued to refuse his return.However, Pakistan indicated 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 restrictions, although these are seen as a last resort if talks fail.