‘Regardless of where he was born, the onus lies on where he grew up, was raised, groomed, and unfortunately spoiled,’ Islamabad official says
Pakistan has blamed the UK for allowing the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang to perpetrate numerous rape and sex offences against girls.
The causes of Pakistan-born Shabir Ahmed’s criminality lay in the UK, “where he grew up, was raised, groomed and, unfortunately, spoiled”, Tahir Andrabi, the country’s foreign office spokesman, has claimed.
Britain wants to deport 73-year-old Ahmed back to his birth country following his release from prison on licence two weeks ago after he served 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offences.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood this week set out new laws that could pave the way to deport him, and the government also warned it would threaten Pakistan with visa restrictions if it did not take him back.
But Mr Andrabi told the BBC that Ahmed, who came to Britain 60 years ago, must be dealt with under UK laws, insisting Pakistan had “no connection whatsoever with this matter”.
He said publicly for the first time that his government would not take the offender back.
“His heinous crimes demand serious introspection rather than a quest to search for extraneous causes,” he said.
“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.
“Regardless of where he was born, the onus lies on where he grew up, was raised, groomed, and unfortunately spoiled.”
He added: “We cannot be associated with any decisions relating to the individual’s release or subsequent treatment under the British law.”
Separately, a top Pakistani government official told The Times his country would not be bullied by the UK into taking Ahmed back.
Meanwhile, Ahmed has been moved from his accommodation after its location, in Accrington, Lancashire, was revealed on social media.
Ahmed is subject to a string of licence conditions, including staying at approved accommodation.
Sarah Smith, Labour MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, who called for his removal from the town, said: “I am disgusted that he was ever here in the first place and I join other MP colleagues who have been calling for a much wider exclusion zone so that he is not placed in Lancashire or the North West.
“He must be deported as soon as possible, and I am pleased the government is taking steps to secure this. My first thoughts are with his victims. His release will bring back unimaginable trauma for the women whose lives were changed for ever by his sickening crimes.”
Ahmed cannot return to his former home address in Oldham and is also excluded from parts of Rochdale.
Ms Mahmood wants to change the Immigration and Asylum Bill to remove immunity under the 1971 Immigration Act that prevents Ahmed being deported.
But Islamabad would have to agree to take him, and the government has indicated that Pakistan could be threatened with visa restrictions to take him back.
Pakistan is refusing to take him back, claiming he renounced his Pakistani citizenship – a claims Britain disputes. Officials say he may have torn up his passport, but say he did not go through the full process of terminating his citizenship.
It is understood the UK has been in negotiations with Pakistan over Ahmed’s deportation for a year. Pakistan has reportedly demanded the extradition of two political dissidents from the UK in exchange for taking Ahmed.