Published : 06 Aug 2026, 06:31 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:30 AM
A former Pakistani state minister accused of raping and trafficking children in the UK has returned to politics, winning a seat in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir while still on police bail in Britain.
Rukhsar Ahmed, 62, was re-elected last week in the Azad Kashmir legislative election on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Ahmed had spent five years out of the legislature after losing his seat in 2021. He previously served in the Azad Kashmir assembly from 2006 to 2011 and 2016 to 2021, holding several ministerial posts.
British police arrested him at Manchester Airport in July 2024 over allegations linking him to a grooming gang accused of raping and trafficking underage girls at a care home in Manchester’s Rusholme in the early 1990s.
He remains on police bail while the investigation continues.
Ahmed was due to report to a Manchester police station last month but failed to appear, reportedly saying he was too ill to fly.
Social media images from the same period, however, showed him campaigning in Mirpur, Pakistan.
The Guardian reported that Greater Manchester Police had sought restrictions on his overseas travel in 2024, but the court did not grant the requested restrictions.
Investigators have questioned Ahmed over allegations by at least two women who say he was involved in their rape and trafficking while they were minors.
Police say the investigation remains ongoing and he may be required to report again within six weeks.
Failure to appear could lead to an arrest warrant and potentially extradition proceedings.
A senior PML-N leader in Azad Kashmir said he had known Ahmed for more than two decades but was unaware of the rape allegations.
“We only heard that he was involved with some groups in Manchester in the 1990s. But I personally had no knowledge that he faced such serious allegations,” he said.
Ahmed did not respond to requests for comment.
