Pakistan MP Rukhsar Ahmed, accused in UK grooming case, refuses return date

The Story in Brief

Pakistani MP Rukhsar Ahmed, arrested in Manchester in July 2024 on suspicion of raping and trafficking underage girls in the 1990s, has refused to say when he will return to the UK to meet his bail conditions. The Mail on Sunday reports that Ahmed, 61, told the newspaper from his office in Khari Sharif, Mirpur, that he would return but declined to give a date. He missed a police station appointment two months ago, saying he was too ill to travel, and was later elected as an MP for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's PML-N party. The Guardian reports that Ahmed was arrested at Manchester Airport over historical child sexual abuse linked to Rusholme care homes. He denies all allegations and has not been charged or convicted. Greater Manchester Police may seek a warrant or extradition if he fails to answer bail within six weeks.

Ahmed was a minister in Pakistani state governments from 2006 to 2021. A judge rejected tougher bail conditions that would have restricted his travel. Richard Scorer, a lawyer specialising in abuse cases, said Rusholme has featured in grooming gang investigations for 30 years and hoped for a comprehensive investigation.