Pakistan refuses to accept Rochdale gang ringleader despite Miliband request
Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, told Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband during a meeting on Thursday that Pakistan would not accept Shabir Ahmed — the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang — back into the country, the Daily Mail reports. Pakistan's position, as reported by Guido Fawkes, is that Ahmed renounced his Pakistani citizenship and is therefore solely Britain's responsibility, and that no legal framework or bilateral mechanism exists to compel his return.
Ahmed is currently held in the UK following his conviction and reportedly costs the taxpayer a significant sum annually in surveillance and accommodation. The refusal is notable because it came during what appears to have been Miliband's first direct bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, meaning the issue was raised at the highest diplomatic level and rebuffed immediately.
Neither source provides any recorded response from Miliband or the Foreign Office following the meeting, nor any reaction from opposition parties. No 10 has not been cited as commenting. The story is likely to attract political pressure on the government over its ability to remove foreign-national offenders and over the ongoing costs of the case, though no UK political statements are available in the supplied material to confirm this.
Key facts
- Pakistan's foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar told Miliband at a Thursday meeting that Pakistan would not accept Shabir Ahmed back, according to the Daily Mail. source
- Pakistan's reported justification is that Ahmed renounced his Pakistani citizenship and that no bilateral legal mechanism exists to facilitate his return, according to Guido Fawkes. source
- Ahmed's continued presence in the UK is said to cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds annually in surveillance and accommodation, according to Guido Fawkes. source
Sources
Each outlet's own headline, quoted, beside the link to it — and our one-line reading of the angle it takes.
- Daily Mail RIGHT28 Aug, 16:19
Pakistan tells Miliband: We're not taking back Rochdale grooming gang leader, during first meet
The paper leads on the bilateral meeting itself as the setting for the refusal, treating the Pakistani foreign minister's direct rejection of Miliband's request as the central news point.
- Guido Fawkes RIGHT28 Aug, 12:56
Pakistan Ignores Miliband’s Pleas to Take Back Rochdale Rapist
The site frames Pakistan's refusal as a diplomatic snub to Miliband personally and emphasises the ongoing taxpayer cost of keeping Ahmed in the UK.
Original synthesis from the sources above. The Order Paper writes its own headlines and summaries and does not republish source text. Headlines in the source list are each publisher’s own, quoted as a citation beside a link to their reporting. Contested claims are attributed to their reporters.