Pakistan has issued a warning that it might cease accepting illegal migrants if the UK insists on repatriating Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Ahmed was recently released after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offenses. Senior Pakistani officials emphasized their extensive cooperation with Britain, having facilitated the return of nearly 1,500 rejected asylum seekers, visa overstayers, and immigration offenders over the past year.
Despite this, Pakistan expressed strong displeasure at the UK government’s demand to take back Ahmed, arguing that he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship and spent almost his entire life in the UK, making Britain responsible for him. Officials warned that pressing Pakistan to accept Ahmed could jeopardize broader collaboration on intelligence, security, and organized crime between the two nations.
Notably, Pakistani officials are upset by UK government hints at potential sanctions, including visa bans for Pakistanis traveling to the UK and withholding foreign aid, should Pakistan refuse Ahmed’s return. This development coincides with efforts by Andy Burnham to increase deportations of foreign offenders to alleviate overcrowded prisons and reduce early releases. As of June 30, there were 306 Pakistanis incarcerated in UK prisons.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to amend immigration laws, closing a loophole that previously prevented Ahmed’s deportation despite his loss of British citizenship. However, Pakistan maintains there is no specific bilateral agreement obliging it to accept sex offenders like Ahmed. Instead, Pakistan highlights its expanded cooperation on returning illegal migrants, with returns rising 24% year-on-year from 1,158 to 1,437 in 2025-26. This includes a 74% increase in failed asylum seeker returns and an 8% rise in non-asylum returns, such as visa overstayers and foreign offenders.
One senior Pakistani official criticized the UK’s insistence on Ahmed’s repatriation, suggesting it is driven by domestic political pressures rather than legal or diplomatic considerations. He stressed that such actions risk undermining the longstanding bilateral relationship. Another official described Ahmed as “very much the UK’s internal problem,” noting that Ahmed, now 75, has lived in Britain for over 60 years and committed his crimes there, making it unreasonable for the UK to expect Pakistan to assume responsibility.
Officials urged the UK government to adopt a more pragmatic approach, warning that allowing a single case to overshadow decades of cooperation would harm both countries’ interests and strain diplomatic ties. Data shared by Pakistani officials revealed that Pakistan accepted two UK charter flights carrying returnees in May and August 2025 as part of the UK’s removals program, further illustrating Islamabad’s commitment.
Pakistan’s cooperation has been described as “gold standard” by the UK Home Office behind closed doors, reflecting Islamabad’s significant role not only in migration matters but also in intelligence sharing and combating organized crime in support of UK national security. However, officials cautioned that bilateral relations could suffer across multiple areas if the UK continues to pressure Pakistan over the Ahmed case, emphasizing that cooperation must be reciprocal.
