The UK government is facing a fresh hurdle in its bid to deport Shabir Ahmed, one of the ringleaders of the Rochdale child grooming gang, after Pakistan reportedly refused to accept him, saying he is no longer a Pakistani citizen.Ahmed, 73, who was released from prison this week after serving 14 years for multiple child rape and sexual assault offences, claims he renounced his Pakistani citizenship decades ago by tearing up his passport, The Telegraph reported.While British authorities dispute whether the renunciation was legally completed, Pakistani officials insist their records show he is no longer a national of the country.
Pakistan refuses to accept deportation
According to The Telegraph, Pakistani ministers and officials have told the UK that Ahmed cannot be deported to Pakistan because he is not recognised as a Pakistani citizen.“There is discussion in the UK that the law may be changed to deport Shabir Ahmed – but to where? He is not our national,” a Pakistani minister told the newspaper.“He was born in Pakistan but he has lived all his life in the UK after leaving Pakistan at around the age of 13. The UK should do whatever it can to him due to his criminality, which is unforgivable – but that’s for the UK to do. We have no stake in it,” the minister added.A Pakistani government official also told The Telegraph that official records show Ahmed renounced his Pakistani citizenship several decades ago and has since held neither a Pakistani passport nor a national identity card.The official said Pakistan would review the case only if Britain produced evidence that Ahmed had failed to complete the legal process for renouncing his citizenship.
UK reviewing law amid diplomatic challenge
The BBC reported that UK officials are in talks with Pakistan as they explore all possible options to remove Ahmed from Britain.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has asked Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to review the case after it emerged that provisions in the Immigration Act 1971 currently prevent Ahmed’s deportation.The law protects Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 and have lived there for at least five years.According to the BBC, the government is considering amending the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament to remove that legal barrier.However, even if the law is changed, deportation would still require Pakistan’s agreement to accept Ahmed.A Downing Street spokesperson said the government had raised the issue with Islamabad and remained committed to deporting foreign national offenders, while acknowledging that the case was legally and diplomatically complex.
Victims say they feel unsafe
The BBC reported that Ahmed has been released into 24-hour staffed accommodation under strict licence conditions and is being monitored with a GPS electronic tag.Any breach of those conditions would result in his immediate return to prison, according to the Home Office.Some of Ahmed’s victims said they were “frightened” by his release and no longer felt safe.
Similar cases have failed
The dispute mirrors earlier failed attempts to deport two other key figures in the Rochdale grooming gang — Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan.Both men were stripped of their British citizenship but Pakistan also refused to accept them after they renounced their Pakistani nationality, obstructing UK efforts to deport them.Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called for a tougher approach, suggesting Britain should consider cutting foreign aid to Pakistan if it continues refusing to accept convicted offenders whom the UK seeks to remove.
