Key Points
At a closed door meeting, Pakistan reportedly offered to take back two convicted grooming-gang members in exhange for the extradition of two political dissidents.
The sex-offenders, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, had their British citizenship stripped in 2018, while the dissidents, Shehzad Akbar and Adil Raja, have lived in the UK since 2022 after facing persecution in Pakistan.
The UK government has faced increasing pressure in recent years to crack down on grooming gangs, while Pakistan recently ramped up its crackdown on dissent.
On 4 December 2025, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott for a closed-door meeting. Naqvi reportedly offered to repatriate convicted members of the Rochdale grooming gang in exchange for the extradition of two high-profile Pakistani dissidents residing in Britain.
Official statements framed the meeting as routine talks on “security cooperation” and countering “fake news”. However, Drop Site News published a report highlighting a “quid pro quo arrangement” – Pakistan would issue travel documents for Pakistan-origin sex offenders Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, whose British citizenship was revoked in 2018. In exchange, the UK would process the extradition of former Federal Minister Shehzad Akbar and former Army Major and Commentator Adil Raja.
Rauf and Khan were convicted in the widely reported Rochdale grooming-gang cases in 2012. The groups operated from the late 1990s, targeting, grooming and sexually abusing minors across several English towns including Rochdale, Rotherham, Oldham and Telford. They were stripped of their UK citizenship to facilitate deportation, but removal stalled when Pakistan refused to accept them, as many had renounced their Pakistani nationality, creating legal statelessness.
This failure to deport the convicts has fuelled significant political pressure in the UK. The issue has repeatedly resurfaced in domestic debate, with advocacy groups and right-wing figures portraying the stalled deportations as evidence of a flawed immigration system. Public commentary by prominent figures in recent years, like Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk, has intensified the scrutiny. Musk alleged that that grooming gangs victimised “a quarter of a million” children.
For the British government, securing the repatriation of these offenders would represent a tangible political victory after years of deadlock.
Islamabad has demanded the extradition of Shehzad Akbar and Adil Raja, both vocal critics of Pakistan’s military and governing establishment who have lived in exile in the UK since 2022. Pakistan accuses them of running “anti-state propaganda” online. Naqvi reportedly handed over extradition papers during the meeting and said both men “should be handed over immediately”.
Pakistan’s proposal highlights its long-running tensions with critics abroad and its broader effort to curb digital dissent. Naqvi recently said the government would not “spare” those who spread alleged “fake news” from overseas, reinforcing concerns about the political context behind the request.
The UK, however, has no standard extradition treaty with Pakistan. Moreover, British courts routinely block removals when the request appears politically motivated or when the individual risks persecution—criteria that are highly relevant in this case.
Both Akbar and Raja publicly rejected Pakistan’s allegations and said the exchange offer itself demonstrates the political nature of the charges against them.
Akbar, former adviser to ex-prime minister Imran Khan, said his reporting on military appointments and constitutional amendments had “deeply angered the regime”. He added that Pakistan’s attempt to link his extradition to the deportation of convicted sex offenders “shows how far they are willing to go”.
Raja described years of reprisals by Pakistani authorities, including the cancellation of his passport, seizure of assets, a court-martial in absentia sentencing him to 14 years, and pressure on family members in Pakistan. In a written statement, he said: “They have finally figured out a way to weaponise British grooming gangs against overseas activists.”
Naqvi is expected to hold further meetings in London, but the UK has not indicated whether it will consider the exchange. Legal analysts say the proposal is unlikely to advance without substantial diplomatic renegotiation or an exceptional legal arrangement.
For now, the offer signals a rare convergence of Pakistan’s campaign against political dissidents and the UK’s domestic pressure to resolve high-profile deportation cases—two issues now entangled in a politically fraught negotiation. [Rh]
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