"the onus lies on where he grew up, was raised, groomed"
Pakistan has refused to accept Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed back into the country, blaming the UK for allowing him to perpetrate numerous rape and sex offences against girls.
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Ahmed’s criminality developed in Britain, where he grew up, was raised and spent most of his adult life.
Ahmed was released from prison on licence two weeks ago after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offences.
The UK government wants to deport Ahmed to Pakistan following his release. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out plans to change immigration laws that could allow his removal.
The government has also warned Pakistan that it could face visa restrictions if it refuses to take Ahmed back.
However, Mr Andrabi said Pakistan had “no connection whatsoever with this matter” and insisted Ahmed must be dealt with under UK law.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “His heinous crimes demand serious introspection rather than a 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.”
Mr Andrabi said any decisions about Ahmed’s release and legal status were the responsibility of British authorities:
“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.
“We cannot be associated with any decisions relating to the individual’s release or subsequent treatment under the British law.”
A senior Pakistani government official also told The Times that the country would not be bullied by the UK into accepting Ahmed.
Pakistan claims Ahmed renounced his Pakistani citizenship and therefore it is not required to take him back.
However, the UK disputes this, saying Ahmed may have destroyed his passport but did not complete the formal process required to end his citizenship.
The UK and Pakistan have reportedly been negotiating Ahmed’s deportation for around a year.
Pakistan has reportedly requested the extradition of two political dissidents from the UK in exchange for accepting Ahmed.
Ms Mahmood wants to amend the Immigration and Asylum Bill to remove protections under the 1971 Immigration Act that currently prevent Ahmed’s deportation.
Meanwhile, Ahmed has been moved from his approved accommodation in Accrington, Lancashire, after its location was revealed on social media.
He remains subject to several licence conditions, including staying at approved accommodation.
Ahmed cannot return to his former home address in Oldham and is also excluded from parts of Rochdale.
Sarah Smith, Labour MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, called for Ahmed to be removed from the area.
She 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 forever by his sickening crimes.”
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