Key facts
- Former Pakistani state minister Rukhsar Ahmed was arrested in the UK on July 18, 2024.
- The arrest is related to allegations of child rape and trafficking from the 1990s in Manchester.
- Ahmed failed to attend a recent bail hearing, citing illness, while actively campaigning in Pakistan.
- He was recently re-elected as an MP in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly.
- Greater Manchester Police are investigating multiple allegations of sexual abuse from several women.
A former Pakistani state minister, Rukhsar Ahmed, has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls and trafficking children in care during the 1990s. Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after a five-year absence from office, was arrested in July 2024 by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). He is currently on police bail in the UK.
Ahmed, 62, reportedly failed to attend a scheduled bail hearing last month, stating he was too unwell to fly. However, he was simultaneously pictured campaigning at election gatherings in Pakistan. He represents the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and previously served as a state minister from 2006 until 2021.
GMP had sought to impose stricter travel restrictions on Ahmed as part of his bail conditions, but a judge rejected the request in July 2024. He was arrested at Manchester airport in relation to past child sexual abuse allegations linked to the Rusholme area of the city, where he resided for many years. Detectives questioned Ahmed about claims from at least two women who alleged he was involved in raping and trafficking them when they were minors.
The investigation focuses on allegations from several women concerning sexual abuse of children at care homes in the early 1990s. Ahmed is expected to answer police bail again within the next six weeks. Failure to attend could lead to an arrest warrant or extradition proceedings, potentially creating a diplomatic issue. A senior PML-N leader in Pakistan-administered Kashmir acknowledged knowing Ahmed and hearing about his past involvement in Manchester groups but denied knowledge of the specific severe allegations.
This development follows Pakistan's refusal to deport Shabir Ahmed, a convicted ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang, weeks prior. Friends of Rukhsar Ahmed described him as influential within Manchester's Pakistani community due to his political standing, with some calling him a "man of the people" and "one of the least corrupt people." His former restaurant, Gujjar Palace, is now boarded up and derelict.