Pakistan links Shabir Ahmed return to UK extradition demands

Pakistan has reportedly said it could consider taking back convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed only if Britain agrees to extradite several Pakistan-based dissidents and critics of Army chief Asim Munir. The reported condition has added a diplomatic dimension to Britain's efforts to remove Ahmed, whose deportation remains blocked by legal and citizenship complications. Ahmed, 73, was released last week after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child sexual offences, including rape, involving girls as young as 12.

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According to the report, Ahmed held dual British and Pakistani citizenship before he was jailed in August 2012. Britain later revoked his British citizenship, but officials have still been unable to send him to Pakistan. A law dating from 1971 protects some Commonwealth citizens who arrived in Britain before 1973 and have lived there for at least five years, and Ahmed has lived in the UK for more than 60 years.

Pakistan has argued that Ahmed is no longer its citizen because he renounced Pakistani nationality before Britain stripped him of British citizenship. The reported bargaining position comes as Islamabad has renewed pressure on London over several figures living in the UK, including former minister Shahzad Akbar, journalist and former army officer Adil Raja, and Altaf Hussain, the founder of the MQM movement. Two of those names are already subject to formal extradition requests, according to the report.

A Pakistani official, speaking anonymously, said people based in Britain were being allowed to destabilise Pakistan and incite unrest, while accusing London of failing to act despite being shown evidence. The case has wider significance because it sits at the intersection of criminal justice, nationality law and bilateral diplomacy. Ahmed's conviction made him one of the most prominent figures linked to the Rochdale grooming scandal, a case that has remained politically and socially sensitive in Britain for years.

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The latest reported Pakistani condition also raises the prospect of a broader dispute over how each country handles people accused of serious crimes or political offences. Britain's legal position is complicated by the fact that Ahmed spent most of his life in the country and falls within protections that can limit removal even after citizenship is revoked. Pakistan's position, meanwhile, appears tied to its own concerns about critics and dissidents abroad, as well as its view that London is applying a double standard.

The reported exchange suggests that Ahmed's case is no longer only about deportation, but also about leverage in a wider diplomatic argument. What remains unclear is whether Pakistan's reported condition is an official policy position or a negotiating stance attributed to an unnamed official. It is also not clear whether Britain would consider any of the extradition requests linked to the reported offer.

The next developments will likely depend on whether either side formalises its position and whether the legal barriers to Ahmed's removal can be overcome.

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