Pakistan has stated it has "no connection whatsoever" with the case of Shabir Ahmed, a UK-based grooming gang leader whom the United Kingdom is attempting to deport. The Pakistani government asserts that Ahmed is a British national who spent his adult life in the UK and was convicted by a British court for offenses committed on British soil.
"The matter in question is entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom," a statement from Pakistan read. "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."
Ahmed, who arrived in the UK in the late 1960s, was found guilty along with eight other men of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison and was released on license this month.
Victims of the gang expressed fear and a lack of safety following Ahmed's release. The UK's Immigration Act 1971 has provisions that can bar the removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 and have resided there for at least five years. This protection is reportedly preventing Ahmed's deportation.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has stated that the 1971 Act should not be used to prevent the removal of individuals like Ahmed in cases of serious crimes. The UK government has proposed amendments to the law that would remove these protections for foreign criminals convicted of serious offenses, aligning deportation law with the law on citizenship removal.
The Home Office has acknowledged that Ahmed's removal is contingent on Pakistan's acceptance of him. While in the UK, Ahmed has been placed in 24-hour staffed accommodation and fitted with an electronically monitored GPS tag. He faces a return to prison if he breaches the strict license conditions.