Pakistan seeks extradition of UK political dissidents in exchange for 30-felony rapist

Pakistan has set out a list of demands for the UK, including the extradition of political dissidents, if they want to deport Shabir Ahmed, the leader of the Rochdale grooming gang.

Who is Shabir Ahmed? What is he accused of?

A Pakistani-born child abuser who was part of a Rochdale gang was known to his victims as ‘Daddy’. He lured the girls with alcohol and drugs before treating them like sex slaves.

According to The Telegraph, Ahmed, 73, was released from prison last week after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 counts of child rape. Although the UK government has revoked his British citizenship, he cannot be deported to Islamabad because the Immigration Act 1971 protects Commonwealth citizens who came to Britain before 1973 and lived in the country for at least five years.

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Why is Pakistan refusing Ahmed’s deportation?

Citing a senior Pakistani official, the report added that Britain must “respect the issues that matter” to Islamabad, rather than resort to “hand-wringing” and threats to return Ahmed, a child rapist, to Pakistan.

Islamabad has refused to take Ahmed back, along with two other leaders of the Rochdale grooming gang, saying the accused say they are not Pakistani because they have renounced their citizenship. But the official added that Islamabad was prepared to think “out of the box” and “beyond normal procedures” to facilitate Ahmed’s possible return to Pakistan.

The UK and Pakistan are divided over Ahmed’s extradition

The official noted that the United Kingdom and Pakistan have been negotiating for Ahmed and other members of the grooming gang for nearly a year in anticipation of his release. He said: “Our position is that they (UK) have to listen to us too. Both sides have to apply standards. Pakistan cannot be made to agree to terms that are only suitable for the UK.”

He went on to say: “The UK knows what our demands are. We have made our demands and concerns categorically clear to the UK. Some people in the UK are just playing media games. They are not being honest.”

The official also accused the UK government of threatening Pakistan with visa restrictions and overseas aid cuts, both publicly and privately, if it refused to deport Ahmed. He added: “These demands are being made on someone who is now around 75 years old and has spent more than 60 years in your country. How is he a citizen of ours if he is not actually a citizen of ours? This is arrogance and colonial thinking. It is unacceptable to us.”

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The British government will consider repealing parts of the 1971 immigration law

According to the report, Shabana Mahmood, the interior minister, is considering repealing the sections of the 1971 Immigration Act that prohibit Ahmed’s deportation to Islamabad. The decision to cancel the sections could come as early as July 13.

Nazir Afzal, who helped jail Shabir Ahmed when he was chief prosecutor, noted: “The home secretary is fixing the part she can fix. The reality is of course that this is a diplomatic issue. There will undoubtedly be human rights challenges as well.”

Afzal went on to say, “But I don’t think it’s a big problem because parliament can explicitly exclude the application of human rights, as it did in the case of the Rwandan law, for example. The answer depends on diplomacy, not legislation.”

What does Pakistan demand in exchange for Ahmed’s deportation?

The Telegraph reported that Islamabad is seeking the extradition of political dissidents, including Shahzad Akbar, a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, and Adil Raj, a Pakistani journalist and former military officer, for alleged disinformation and anti-state propaganda.

It also asked the UK to hand over Altaf Hussain, the London-based founder of the Muttahida Qaumi opposition movement, who has lived in exile in the UK for 30 years.

Negotiations have reached an impasse because the UK has refused to extradite political dissidents, saying it could expose them to persecution and violate their human rights.

Key things

Diplomatic negotiations can be compromised by the demands of both sides, especially in cases involving human rights.
Complex legal frameworks are often intertwined with international relations, especially when it comes to criminal cases and political dissidents.
Understanding the implications of extradition requests emphasizes the balance between justice and human rights in global diplomacy.