Former Pakistani minister arrested over alleged child rape in 1990s Manchester

A former Pakistani state minister has been arrested on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester in the 1990s, the Guardian can reveal.Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after five years out of office, is on police bail in the UK after his arrest in July 2024 on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang.It is understood that Ahmed, 62, was expected to answer bail at a police station in Manchester last month, but failed to attend because he was “too unwell to fly”.At the same time, he was pictured on social media campaigning at various election gatherings in Mirpur in northern Pakistan.He was elected last week as an MP in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly for the party of Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.Ahmed, who represents the centre-right Pakistan-muslim-league-nawaz" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="169296" data-entity-type="organization">Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 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="3930" 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 of the city, where he lived for many years.Rukhsar Ahmed. Photograph: SuppliedAhmed, who has more than 17,000 followers on Facebook, was pictured with friends in Rusholme as recently as May, with associates saying he has visited regularly.He is the owner of a former restaurant, the Gujjar Palace, near Manchester’s curry mile. One friend said people travelled for hundreds of miles to see the businessman, given his role in Pakistani politics.Detectives questioned Ahmed in July 2024 about allegations from at least two women who claimed that Ahmed was involved in raping and trafficking them when they were young girls.It is understood that detectives learned about Ahmed’s involvement in Pakistani politics when he was in custody for questioning.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 – potentially causing a diplomatic row.A senior leader of PML-N in Pakistan-administered Kashmir said he had known Ahmed for at least two decades. but did not know about the rape allegations against him. He said: “We just heard that he was part of some groups in Manchester in 1990s. But I personally didn’t know about such severe allegations existed against Ahmed.” Ahmed did not respond to requests for comment.The revelation comes weeks after Pakistan refused the UK government’s attempts to deport a freed ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang.Shabir Ahmed, 73, was released from jail in July after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offences.Friends of Rukhsar Ahmed described him as “incredibly influential” in Manchester’s Pakistani community given his political role.One associate in Rusholme said he was a “man of the people” and “one of the least corrupt people”, adding that he had visited the area recently.He is known to have visited a popular Pakistani restaurant on Stockport Road in Rusholme on numerous occasions. Photos from one visit, which he posted to his Facebook account, show him and several others standing outside the restaurant.Those on Stockport Road speak highly of Ahmed. One man described him as “a man of conviction who helps people who need it”.He is particularly respected by people from Azad Kashmir, the self governing region near northern Pakistan where his LA-4 Mirpur-IV seat is based.His influence in the community is such that people come from across the UK to meet him when he visits Manchester, which he is believed to do every few months.The Gujjar Palace was boarded up and derelict when the Guardian visited on Tuesday. One local business owner said it had been closed since at least 2009. Ahmed is the only director of the company that owns the restaurant, but it was almost struck off earlier this year after failing to file its accounts.