- Rukhsar Ahmed was elected two weeks ago in AJK elections.
- Rape, trafficking allegations levelled against Ahmed.
- Ahmed flew to Pakistan two months ago; he is on bail.
LONDON: Newly-elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly lawmaker Rukhsar Ahmed has denied being involved in grooming gang crimes in the UK and has stressed his innocence.
The Guardian disclosed last week that Ahmed, a former Azad Kashmir 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.
He was released on bail and flew to Pakistan nearly two months ago, missing an appointment at a police station after telling officers he was too unwell to fly back to the UK.
Ahmed has published a statement on his Facebook account, rejecting the allegations. It read: “I categorically deny all the allegations against me and will address these matters through the appropriate forums. On legal advice, I will not comment further while these matters remain ongoing.”
He was elected an MLA on PML-N’s ticket two weeks ago in the first phase of the ongoing elections.
On the weekend, a UK paper’s Pakistan reporter met Ahmed, 61, at his office in Khari Sharif, a village in Mirpur district.
According to the Mail on Sunday, he told a reporter he would fly back to Britain to meet his bail conditions, but declined to give a date. “Everything is with my legal team in Manchester and London, they told me I can’t discuss this,” he told the newspaper.
“What they done, this media in the United Kingdom and Europe, is out of order. I have not been convicted of anything nor charged for anything, so what is going on? I don’t want to discuss it, because if I discuss it, things may go wrong.”
Asked directly whether he had raped two underage girls, he refused to answer, telling the reporter: “You are doing wrong now, I told you not to talk to me like this … please don’t talk to me like this, I told you I have nothing to do with it, OK.”
Ahmed was a minister in various state governments from 2006 until he lost his seat in 2021.
The Guardian has reported that Greater Manchester police (GMP) had wanted to restrict Ahmed’s ability to travel abroad as part of his bail conditions, but a judge rejected tougher measures in July 2024. Ahmed was arrested at Manchester airport on July 18, 2024, in relation to past child sexual abuse allegations linked to the Rusholme area, where he lived for many years.
The ongoing investigation relates to allegations from several women about sexual abuse of children at care homes in the early 1990s, when Ahmed was in his late 20s. He is understood to be expected to answer police bail in the next six weeks. If he does not attend, GMP may issue a warrant for his arrest or take steps to extradite him.
Greater Manchester Police declined to comment, saying it does not discuss individual cases.
