Pakistani ex-minister accused of UK child abuse won't say when he'll return

Rukhsar Ahmed, 55, a former Pakistani 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.

After being released on bail, Ahmed flew to Pakistan nearly two months ago, telling police he was too unwell to return for a scheduled appointment. Days later he was elected an MP for prime minister Shehbaz Sharif's ruling party.

He was recently located at an office in a village in Pakistan's Mirpur district, where he told a reporter he intended to return to Britain to meet his bail conditions but would not specify when, saying the matter was in the hands of his legal team in Manchester and London. Asked directly whether he had raped underage girls, he declined to answer, asking the reporter not to speak to him that way.

On Friday, Ahmed posted a statement on Facebook categorically denying all allegations and saying he would not comment further on legal advice while the matter is ongoing.

Ahmed served as a minister in various Pakistani state governments between 2006 and 2021. Police had reportedly sought tighter travel restrictions as part of his bail conditions, but a judge rejected the tougher measures in July 2024.

He is expected to answer his bail terms within the next six weeks; failing that, police could seek an arrest warrant or pursue extradition. A lawyer who has handled several related cases in Manchester noted that the Rusholme area has repeatedly featured in grooming gang investigations over three decades and expressed hope for a thorough inquiry into the current allegations.