BRITAIN’S plans to deport the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang are “entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom” and have “no connection whatsoever” with Pakistan, the Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC.
Calls have mounted for Shabir Ahmed’s deportation following his recent release from prison, but has been held up due to a law from 1971 that bars the deportation of Commonwealth citizens.
Ahmed, who came to the UK in the late 1960s, was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants.
According to the BBC, he had dual British-Pakistani citizenship before being stripped of his UK passport following his 2012 conviction for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls.
Andy Burnham, who is set to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next, has described Ahmed as a “vile criminal” who he wants deported.
Although Home Minister Shabana Mahmood has indicated plans to amend the law, it appears that Ahmed’s removal from the UK hinges on Pakistan accepting him back.
Under the UK government’s proposed amendment, foreign criminals would no longer benefit from such protections when they are found guilty of certain serious crimes.
According to FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, the ringleader’s “heinous crimes demand serious introspection rather than the quest to search for extraneous causes”.
“The individual concerned is a British national who spent his entire adult life in the UK and was duly convicted by a British court for reprehensible offences committed on British soil.
“Any decision regarding his release, supervision of usual legal status, falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the competent British authorities and must be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom,” he said.
“The government of Pakistan has no connection whatsoever with this matter. We cannot be associated with any decisions relating to the individual’s release or subsequent treatment under the British law,” Andrabi told the BBC.
Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026