Pakistani grooming gang suspect ‘refuses to give date for return to UK’

A grooming gang suspect released on bail in the UK and then re-elected as an MP in Pakistan has reportedly declined to say when he would return to face rape charges.The Guardian disclosed that Rukhsar Ahmed, a former Pakistan state minister, was arrested at Manchester airport in July 2024 on suspicion of raping and trafficking at least two underage girls from care homes in the city’s Rusholme area during the 1990s.He was released on bail and flew to Pakistan nearly two months ago, missing an appointment at a police station after telling officers he was too unwell to fly back to the UK.He was elected an MP for prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s centre-right Pakistan-muslim-league-nawaz" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="169296" data-entity-type="organization">Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party days later.He did not respond to requests for a comment when approached by The Guardian last week.Rukhsar Ahmed. Photograph: SuppliedIt emerged on Sunday that Ahmed, 55, had been located in his office in Khari Sharif, a village in Mirpur district.According to the Mail on Sunday, he told a reporter he would fly back to Britain to meet his bail conditions, but declined to give a date. “Everything is with my legal team in Manchester and London, they told me I can’t discuss this,” he told the newspaper.“What they done, this media in the United Kingdom and Europe, is out of order. I have not been convicted of anything nor charged for anything, so what is going on? I don’t want to discuss it, because if I discuss it, things may go wrong.”Asked directly whether he had raped two underage girls, he refused to answer, telling the reporter: “You are doing wrong now, I told you not to talk to me like this … please don’t talk to me like this, I told you I have nothing to do with it, OK.”Ahmed published a statement on his Facebook account on Friday. It read: “I categorically deny all the allegations against me and will address these matters through the appropriate forums. On legal advice, I will not comment further while these matters remain ongoing.”Ahmed was a minister in various state governments from 2006 until he lost his seat in 2021.The Guardian understands that Manchester-police" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="150350" data-entity-type="organization">Greater Manchester police (GMP) had wanted to restrict Ahmed’s ability to travel abroad as part of his bail conditions, but a judge rejected tougher measures in July 2024.Ahmed was arrested at Manchester airport on 18 July 2024 in relation to past child sexual abuse allegations linked to the Rusholme area, where he lived for many years.According to the report, he received a string of visitors in his office. He is the owner of a former restaurant, the Gujjar Palace, near Manchester’s curry mile.The ongoing investigation relates to allegations from several women about sexual abuse of children at care homes in the early 1990s, when Ahmed was in his late 20s.He is understood to be expected to answer police bail in the next six weeks. If he does not attend, GMP may issue a warrant for his arrest or take steps to extradite him.The Guardian has approached Ahmed for comment again.Richard Scorer, the head of abuse law at Slater and Gordon who has acted in many Manchester grooming gang cases said: “Rusholme has regularly featured in grooming gang investigations over the past 30 years, with many cases involving allegations of children being abused in and around the area.“Not all of those allegations have been adequately investigated. I hope that a comprehensive investigation is taking place here”.