UK's £153 million aid to Pakistan sparks row after Islamabad refuses to take back grooming gang leader

A fresh political controversy has erupted in the United Kingdom after the Labour government approved £153 million in aid to Pakistan for the next three years, with critics questioning the decision after Islamabad refused to take back convicted grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed.

The issue has triggered a war of words between the opposition Conservatives and the ruling Labour government. While former Home Secretary Priti Patel accused the government of rewarding Pakistan despite its refusal to accept Ahmed, Labour ministers have defended the aid package, pointing out that previous Conservative governments provided even larger amounts of assistance.

According to a report by the Daily Mail, the UK government recently approved the new aid package for Pakistan.

Pakistan has been the largest recipient of British aid over the past two decades, although critics have repeatedly raised concerns over transparency and oversight in the use of these funds.

Political row over aid and deportation

The latest controversy intensified after reports came that Pakistan had refused to take back Ahmed, who was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction.

More from World

Reacting to the development, Priti Patel said the Labour government had approved £153 million in aid even as Pakistan was refusing to accept "dangerous and violent criminals" deported from the UK.

She accused the government of failing to protect the British public and criticised the timing of the aid announcement, alleging it was made just before Parliament went into recess to avoid scrutiny.

Labour minister Jenny Chapman rejected Patel's criticism, saying the claims were misleading. She said Britain's aid is channelled through development programmes rather than directly to the Pakistani government.

Chapman also noted that UK aid to Pakistan has been reduced significantly under Labour and reminded Patel that in 2017, when she held a ministerial role, Britain provided £402 million in aid to Pakistan—more than to any other country.

Why Pakistan rejected Ahmed

Pakistan's foreign ministry has denied responsibility for Ahmed, arguing that the matter is entirely Britain's concern.

Foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Ahmed is a British national who spent his entire adult life in the UK and committed his crimes there. He added that Pakistan had "no connection whatsoever" with the case and described it as an internal matter for the United Kingdom.

However, the issue remains legally complex. According to the BBC, Ahmed originally held dual British-Pakistani citizenship before the UK stripped him of his British nationality after his conviction in 2012.

Who is Shabir Ahmed?

According to the Daily Mail, the 73-year-old was the ringleader of a grooming gang that sexually exploited girls as young as 12 in Greater Manchester.

Ahmed was convicted in 2012 on multiple counts of rape, child sexual abuse and trafficking. He received a 22-year prison sentence for 30 child rape offences, along with a separate 19-year sentence for other child sex offences and trafficking.

Prosecutors said he led a gang that groomed vulnerable girls by supplying them with alcohol and drugs before sexually abusing them in rooms above takeaway shops.

Born in Pakistan, Ahmed is believed to have moved to the UK at the age of 14. His case has once again brought Britain's foreign aid policy, immigration system and deportation rules into sharp political focus, with the debate over aid to Pakistan now extending well beyond development assistance.