Rochdale Grooming Gang Members Could Face Deportation to Pakistan After Flight Ban Lifted
Rochdale, UK – Two notorious members of a Rochdale grooming gang, who were jailed over a decade ago for horrific sex crimes against children, could finally be deported to Pakistan, Rochdale MP Paul Waugh has revealed. The major development comes after a five-year ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the UK was recently lifted.
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Adil Khan, 54, and Abdul Rauf, 55, were among nine gang members incarcerated in 2012 for their involvement in a network of Asian men who targeted vulnerable white girls, plying them with alcohol before sharing them with other abusers at sex parties across the North of England.
Mr. Waugh, who has previously expressed, "utter outrage", at the men's continued presence in the UK, has now intensified his calls for their deportation following the restoration of direct flights between Manchester and Islamabad. He has urged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to, "boot them out of Britain".
Khan, then in his 40s, was sentenced to eight years in 2012 after impregnating one victim and trafficking another for sex, using violence when she resisted. He was released on licence four years later, in 2016. Rauf, described as a pillar of Rochdale's Muslim community, was jailed for six years for trafficking a 15-year-old girl, driving her to secluded areas for sex in his taxi and ferrying her to a Rochdale flat where he and others abused her. He was released in November 2014 after serving two-and-a-half years.
Both men were informed by the sentencing judge in 2012 that they would be repatriated to Pakistan upon their release. However, Khan and Rauf subsequently mounted a protracted legal battle against deportation, citing human rights concerns. They launched multiple legal challenges and appeals, thwarting repeated attempts by authorities to remove them.
In August 2022, they lost a final deportation appeal, with immigration tribunal judges dismissing their claims regarding potential violations of human rights law upon their return to Pakistan.
Following this, the Home Office moved to revoke the British citizenship of the dual nationals to facilitate their deportation. However, the men then claimed they had renounced their Pakistani citizenship, rendering themselves stateless. The Pakistan government has reportedly stated there is, "no basis to accept them", as they are no longer considered Pakistani nationals.
The UK's ban on all Pakistani airlines was imposed in 2020, just days after Pakistan initiated an investigation into the validity of pilot licences issued in the country, prompted by a PIA plane crash that claimed 97 lives.
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott recently confirmed that restrictions on Pakistani airlines have now been lifted, following an extensive engagement between the UK’s Air Safety Committee and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. This development has provided renewed hope for the deportation of Khan and Rauf, ending years of legal deadlock.
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Adil Khan, 54, and Abdul Rauf, 55, were among nine gang members incarcerated in 2012 for their involvement in a network of Asian men who targeted vulnerable white girls, plying them with alcohol before sharing them with other abusers at sex parties across the North of England.
Mr. Waugh, who has previously expressed, "utter outrage", at the men's continued presence in the UK, has now intensified his calls for their deportation following the restoration of direct flights between Manchester and Islamabad. He has urged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to, "boot them out of Britain".
Khan, then in his 40s, was sentenced to eight years in 2012 after impregnating one victim and trafficking another for sex, using violence when she resisted. He was released on licence four years later, in 2016. Rauf, described as a pillar of Rochdale's Muslim community, was jailed for six years for trafficking a 15-year-old girl, driving her to secluded areas for sex in his taxi and ferrying her to a Rochdale flat where he and others abused her. He was released in November 2014 after serving two-and-a-half years.
Both men were informed by the sentencing judge in 2012 that they would be repatriated to Pakistan upon their release. However, Khan and Rauf subsequently mounted a protracted legal battle against deportation, citing human rights concerns. They launched multiple legal challenges and appeals, thwarting repeated attempts by authorities to remove them.
In August 2022, they lost a final deportation appeal, with immigration tribunal judges dismissing their claims regarding potential violations of human rights law upon their return to Pakistan.
Following this, the Home Office moved to revoke the British citizenship of the dual nationals to facilitate their deportation. However, the men then claimed they had renounced their Pakistani citizenship, rendering themselves stateless. The Pakistan government has reportedly stated there is, "no basis to accept them", as they are no longer considered Pakistani nationals.
The UK's ban on all Pakistani airlines was imposed in 2020, just days after Pakistan initiated an investigation into the validity of pilot licences issued in the country, prompted by a PIA plane crash that claimed 97 lives.
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott recently confirmed that restrictions on Pakistani airlines have now been lifted, following an extensive engagement between the UK’s Air Safety Committee and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. This development has provided renewed hope for the deportation of Khan and Rauf, ending years of legal deadlock.
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