A former minister from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who was arrested two years ago over allegations of raping and trafficking children in Manchester as part of a grooming gang in the 1990s was re-elected as a member of parliament in PoK last week, according to a report by The Guardian.
Rukhsar Ahmed was elected as an MP in the legislative assembly of PoK for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s party.
The 62-year-old politician, who was arrested in July 2024 and has been out of office for five years, was temporarily discharged on police bail pending further investigation.
“Too Unwell” To Answer Bail
Ahmed failed to answer bail in July because he was “too unwell to fly”. However, he was spotted campaigning at several election gatherings in Mirpur in PoK. According to the publication, he is expected to answer bail in the next six weeks, failing which the Greater Manchester police may issue a warrant for his arrest or take legal actions to extradite him.
Although the Greater Manchester police wanted to restrict Ahmed from travelling abroad, a judge struck down tougher measures in July 2024.
Read | ‘Raped By 600-700 Men’: UK MP Shares ‘Pak Grooming Gang’ Testimonies
He was arrested on 18th July 2024 at the Manchester airport over allegations related to child sexual abuse in the Rusholme area of the city, where he had lived for years.
Two women claimed that Ahmed was involved in raping and trafficking them when they were young girls, after which detectives questioned him in July 2024. The detectives learnt about his background in politics while they were questioning him.
The report stated that Ahmed’s friends describe him as “incredibly influential” in the Pakistani community of Manchester because of his political role. One of his associates in Rusholme said that he is a “man of the people” and “one of the least corrupt people” and said that he had visited the area recently.
Ahmed’s associates said that he has visited Rusholme regularly and has been pictured with friends in May too.
History Of Grooming Gangs In UK
The “grooming gangs” scandal refers to organised networks of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage in northern English towns, who systematically groomed, raped, and trafficked underage white girls. Institutional failures and fear of social unrest delayed intervention for decades.
According to a 2014 report by Professor Alexis Jay, in Rotherham alone, more than 1,400 children were sexually abused over 16 years between 1997 and 2013. Many of the victims were abducted, raped, trafficked, and subjected to unimaginable violence, often with little to no intervention from authorities due to fears of being labelled racist.
