ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Diya TV) — Pakistan has rejected responsibility for Shabir Ahmed, the convicted leader of the Rochdale child sexual exploitation group, as the British government seeks legal and diplomatic options to deport him following his release from prison.
During a Foreign Ministry briefing Thursday, a BBC reporter asked whether the United Kingdom had formally approached Pakistan about accepting Ahmed and how Islamabad had responded. The spokesperson did not directly confirm whether Britain had submitted a formal deportation request.
Instead, the spokesperson described the case as an internal British matter, noting that Ahmed spent his adult life in the United Kingdom, committed the crimes there and received his conviction from a British court.
Pakistan also condemned child sexual abuse and said perpetrators should face investigation, prosecution and punishment regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion. The ministry said the Pakistani government had no role in decisions involving Ahmed’s release, supervision or treatment under British law.
The statement means Pakistan has publicly opposed British efforts to transfer responsibility for Ahmed. However, reports describing the announcement as Pakistan’s rejection of a formal UK request go beyond what the spokesperson explicitly confirmed during the briefing.
Pakistan’s description of Ahmed as a British national also differs from the British government’s account of his citizenship. UK officials told Parliament that Ahmed held British citizenship when he committed the offenses but was later deprived of it because of the seriousness of his crimes. Pakistan’s briefing did not clarify whether it considers him a current Pakistani citizen.
Ahmed, 73, was convicted in 2012 of rape, sexual assault, trafficking for sexual exploitation and other offenses involving girls as young as 12. He was one of nine men convicted in the Rochdale case, which exposed failures by police and local agencies to respond to reports of abuse.
Ahmed was released on license in early July after serving the custodial portion of his sentence. His release does not end the sentence or remove restrictions imposed on him.
British officials said Ahmed will remain on the sex offenders register for life. He must stay away from his victims, cannot contact children or young people and remains subject to curfews, geographic exclusion zones, electronic monitoring and other license conditions. Authorities can return him to prison if he violates those conditions.
The British government has not deported Ahmed because Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 protects certain Commonwealth and Irish citizens who were living in the United Kingdom before the law took effect on Jan. 1, 1973.
Ahmed moved from Pakistan to Britain as a teenager during the 1960s. UK officials said his arrival before 1973 places him within the group protected by the provision.
A British government minister told Parliament that Section 7 was created to preserve the rights of long-term Commonwealth residents, particularly members of the Windrush generation. The minister rejected descriptions of the provision as an accidental legal loophole but said Ahmed’s crimes required the government to examine whether the law should change.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has since announced plans for an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill. The proposed change would allow the home secretary to disregard Section 7 protections in cases involving exceptionally serious criminals.
The government plans to connect the new authority to the legal standard used when stripping a person of British citizenship. That power applies only in cases that meet a high threshold of severity.
Mahmood acknowledged that changing British law would not guarantee Ahmed’s deportation. The United Kingdom would still need a country willing and legally able to accept him, and Ahmed could pursue additional legal challenges against his removal.
British ministers said the Home Office and Foreign Office continue to explore diplomatic options with Pakistan. Officials have not publicly announced an agreement between the two governments.
Pakistan’s position creates a major obstacle because deportation generally requires confirmation of a person’s nationality and cooperation from the receiving country. Removing the protection in British law would address only the UK side of the process.
The disagreement now involves two separate questions: whether Parliament will authorize Ahmed’s deportation under British law and whether Pakistan has a legal obligation to admit him.
The UK government has committed to pursuing both legislative and diplomatic options. Pakistan, however, maintains that Ahmed’s upbringing, crimes, conviction and supervision remain Britain’s responsibility.
