Former Pakistani state minister Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected last week as a member of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, is on police bail in the United Kingdom after being arrested on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang investigation, a report in a British newspaper has said.
The report states that Ahmed, 62, was arrested by Greater Manchester Police at Manchester Airport on 18 July 2024 over allegations of child sexual abuse linked to the Rusholme area of Manchester during the early 1990s.
Detectives are investigating claims from at least two women who alleged that Ahmed raped and trafficked them when they were young girls.
Police bail allows a suspect to remain at liberty while an investigation continues, subject to conditions.
According to the report, Ahmed was expected to answer bail at a police station in Manchester last month but did not attend, reportedly citing that he was “too unwell to fly”. During the same period, he was photographed campaigning at election events in Mirpur, Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Ahmed was elected to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He previously served as a minister in various state governments from 2006 until losing his seat in 2021.
According to the report, Greater Manchester Police sought to impose stricter bail conditions in July 2024 to limit Ahmed’s ability to travel abroad, but a judge rejected the request.
The report further said that Ahmed is expected to answer police bail within the next six weeks. If he fails to do so, Greater Manchester Police could seek a warrant for his arrest or pursue extradition proceedings.
Ahmed did not respond to the allegations made against him.
