In an effort to bring political opponents under control, Asim Munir-Shehbaz Sharif has now proposed a controversial 'exchange system' at the international level. Islamabad is ready to take back notorious Pakistani sex offenders known as members of 'sex grooming gangs' imprisoned in British jails. However, there is a catch—in exchange, Britain must hand over two high-profile political dissidents close to former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to sources, this proposal was made in a meeting between Pakistan's Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi and British High Commissioner Jane Marriott on December 4. The proposal states that the Pakistani government is prepared to take back convicted sex offenders like Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan to the country. This 'sex grooming gang' had long been involved in heinous crimes like sexual exploitation and rape of minor girls in Britain.
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Why this sudden generosity?
The Pakistani government actually wants Shahzad Akbar, former Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant, and Adil Raja, a former army officer and current YouTuber, in their custody in exchange. Both of them are known as staunch critics of Army Chief Asim Munir and Shehbaz Sharif's 'hybrid government'. They have been in voluntary exile in London since 2022.
Britain's 'sex grooming gangs' are mainly a network of men of Pakistani origin. They primarily targeted white minor girls from lower-income families. They groomed them as 'sex slaves' and gang-raped them. These Pakistani men trafficked these girls among themselves like any other commodity. The entire world was shocked after their brutality surfaced.
There are even allegations of 30-40 men sexually assaulting one minor in a single night. Therefore, if members of this gang return to Pakistan, the British government will certainly be relieved. In fact, Keir Starmer's government is interested in sending sex grooming gang members like Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan to Pakistan.
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Islamabad wants to capitalise on this opportunity. However, there is no formal prisoner extradition treaty between Britain and Pakistan. But Section 194 of Britain's 2003 Extradition Act mentions a special 'ad hoc' arrangement(when necessary or needed). There is speculation about whether this controversial exchange is possible under this special arrangement.
Human rights activists fear that if this agreement is implemented once, it will remain as an example of political revenge against political dissidents in the future. The Munir-Shahrif government could use this kind of 'exchange system' for all Pakistani political dissidents living in voluntary exile abroad in the future. Human rights activists say ordinary people do not think this way. But the Pakistani government does. They have finally found a way to weaponise sex grooming gangs against political dissidents.
