News
July 24, 2026
Pakistani Dissidents Fear Being Bargaining Chips in Grooming Gang Row
London: Two Pakistani dissidents living in the UK have spoken about their fear of Pakistan’s attempts to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations to deport a Rochdale grooming gang ringleader.
Islamabad has publicly declared that it will not take back Shabir Ahmed, who was released from jail earlier this month after serving 14 years for his 2012 conviction of 30 child sex offences.
However, Pakistani government officials are said to be engaged in “backchannel” negotiations in which it is seeking the return of two dissidents living in the UK in exchange for Ahmed.
It is understood the two individuals are Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a former cabinet minister under Imran Khan ’s premiership, and Adil Raja, a Pakistani journalist and ex-military officer, who are both accused of spreading “fake news” and anti-regime propaganda.
Akbar arrived in the UK in 2022 out of concern for his safety after Khan’s ousting as prime minister and now runs a YouTube podcast where he is occasionally joined by Adil Raja, a fellow Khan supporter who also fled to Britain around the same time.
They say their work exposes the wrongdoings of Pakistan’s military leadership, citing it as a reason why Islamabad is understood to have demanded their extradition to face justice for spreading anti-state propaganda and terrorism-related offences in exchange for accepting the deportation of Ahmed .
Pakistan first made the request in December, according to media in Pakistan, and is understood to have reiterated its attempts to extradite the pair after media coverage of Ahmed’s release from prison.
Akbar said he feared a repeat of attacks he has faced in the past when there was previous coverage of his case.
“It is next to impossible to take us,” said Akbar, who is a lawyer. “But the last time there was talk about [extradition], I was attacked.”
Akbar was assaulted by masked men outside his house and in front of his wife and children on Christmas Eve. The men had asked for him by name. There were two other attacks on his Cambridgeshire home, including the use of firearms and an attempt to set his house on fire.
He now lives in hiding in a secure location but is concerned about a fresh wave of targeting. “If this time [the extradition] doesn’t work, would they follow with similar kinds of things? Just four days ago my car was broken into.”
He said there were indications that the break-in, in which documents and gadgets were stolen, could be a targeted attack and added that police were investigating.
He said: “Certainly it is clear that they haven’t given up on me.” He added that if he and Raja were sent back, they would find themselves in a similar situation to Khan.
The former prime minister has been imprisoned since August 2023 after his conviction in state-gift fraud cases his party says are politically motivated, while scores of his supporters have been arrested after demanding his release and better treatment in prison.
“I think there is an absolute certainty that even worse things will happen to us, because we know exactly what has happened to people who do not bow to their wishes,” he said, referring to the Pakistani authorities and citing a statement released in December by the UN special rapporteur on torture which raised concerns over reports of Khan’s prolonged solitary imprisonment and denial of medical treatment.
Islamabad rejected the allegations and insisted Khan has been given adequate healthcare as well as a spacious cell.
“If there was due process and rule of law, I wouldn’t mind going back to Pakistan to face any charges,” Akbar said. “But right now what you have in Pakistan is [the military chief] Asim Munir’s law, so there’s no rule of law … This will be one of the biggest hurdles in our extradition, because the UK knows what happens to political prisoners in Pakistan.”
The assault on Akbar in December happened almost simultaneously to a forced entry attempt at Raja’s house in Chesham by two men. Multiple suspects have been arrested, accused of being part of a conspiracy to target the two dissidents, and legal proceedings are under way.
Raja said that after he saw reports of Pakistan demanding his and Akbar’s extradition, he expressed his concerns to his local MP, Sarah Green.
He said Green wrote to Dan Jarvis, then the minister of state for security, who responded in January and said Britain regularly raised concerns about democratic freedoms and human rights with the Pakistani government, and that “attempts by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated”.
Raja, 48, who also lives in hiding in a secure location, said he had not been informed about any fresh extradition request but that the authorities had asked him to remain cautious for his security.
“Police have informed me that I am still a target and I am still under threat, and I need to be very careful. I had a meeting with Scotland Yard quite recently and they briefed me about my security protocols,” Raja said. “There are active threats against me and that is why they are putting all resources, inter-agency resources, to protect me.”
Raja said he understood the domestic pressures faced by the Labor government in relation to the Rochdale gang leader’s case and added that he felt Pakistan was exploiting the situation.
“There is definitely an intense pressure on the UK government … but so far I have not seen any indication that they are going to bow down to this blackmailing by Pakistan,” he said. - The Times
Courtesy The Times
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