The ringleaders of an infamous Rochdale grooming gang cannot be deported because Pakistan will not take them back, it’s been claimed.
Adil Khan, 54, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 55, were jailed in 2012 for leading a nine-strong gang of Asian men who sexually assaulted 47 girls, some as young as 12, after plying them with drink and drugs.
The pair lost appeals against deportation in 2018, but they tore up their Pakistani passports to render themselves ‘stateless’.
Pakistani officials have now been reported as insisting it would be ‘extremely difficult’ to take back such dangerous criminals and there was ‘no basis to accept them’ because they had renounced their citizenship.
However, sources for the Interior Ministry are said to have insisted that ‘progress’ could be made if the UK entered into negotiations.
They are said to have suggested that allowing Pakistan’s national airline, PIA, to restart direct flights to Britain could help the UK Government’s case. These are currently suspended for safety reasons.
But UK officials have reportedly said this issue was never raised in talks.
Politicians and members of the Pakistani government have been in engaged in ‘high-level talks’ to allow Qari Abdul Rauf, pictured, and Adil Khan to be deported
Adil Khan got a girl pregnant but denied he was the father, then met another girl and trafficked her to others
The claims, reported by the Telegraph, will renew anger about ministers’ inability to deport some of the UK’s most dangerous foreign criminals.
They come shortly after a review into the grooming gangs scandal by Dame Louise Casey criticised officials for ‘shying away’ from ‘uncomfortable’ questions about the ethnicity of rapists preying on young girls.
In one case, the Whitehall troubleshooter revealed she had found the word ‘Pakistani’ Tippexed out of a child sex abuse file.
Father-of-five Rauf and Khan were jailed in 2012 after heading the notorious Rochdale grooming gang which included nine Asian men, who sexually assaulted 47 girls. Some victims were as young as 12.
In 2018 the Home Office emerged victorious after a court of appeal ruled the duo as well as another member of the gang, Abdul Aziz, were to be deported after removing their British citizenship.
Rauf and Khan attempted to avoid deportation to their home country by relinquishing their citizenship.
Grooming gang member Abdul Aziz was jailed in 2012 for abusing children
Baroness Casey vented fury at the failure to tackle the issues over a decade, saying she was ‘raging’ on behalf of the victims
Before the 2018 ruling, Aziz had ripped up his passport, so was allowed to stay in the UK as the Government could not make him stateless as per international law.
A person cannot relinquish their citizenship in the UK if they are not a citizen of another state – a loophole the grooming gang duo attempted to exploit by destroying their Pakistani passports.
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Foreign secretary David Lammy has been at the helm of discussions with Pakistan on the matter, as both he and Home Office ministers are understood to be ‘working very hard’ to strike an agreement on Rauf and Khan’s deportation.
Faith minister Lord Khan who has strong connections to Pakistan is also understood to be involved in talks.
Several Pakistanis involved in grooming gangs have been deported including, Rotherham grooming gang member, Khurram Javed, 42, who was sentenced to two years behind bars; Nayyar Tazeem, 34, who was handed a five years prison sentence for grooming and seven sexual assaults; and Rochdale sex offender Kashif Mahmood, 37, who was jailed for two years and seven months.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Sexual violence of all types is a despicable crime, causing the most unimaginable harm to victims and survivors.
‘We recognise the immense bravery shown by them throughout their pursuit of justice, and protecting them remains central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
‘We have already taken action to ban foreign nationals who groom children or commit sexual offences from being granted asylum, and will do everything in our power to pursue deportation from the UK.
‘More than 800 cases involving grooming and child sexual exploitation allegations have also been identified for formal review, so that these vile criminals are off our streets and paying the price for crimes.’
The Department of Transport confirmed to the Telegraph that an application for Pakistan’s national airline to be taken off the UK safety list, so direct flights to the UK could happen, was still being considered.
