Pakistan offers to take back 'grooming gang' offenders in return for dissidents: What is 'super general' Asim Munir afraid of?

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott - File Photo

Pakistan’s military-backed government has triggered outrage in Britain by proposing a deal that critics describe as a brazen attempt to muzzle dissent. Islamabad has offered to accept convicted members of Britain’s notorious sex grooming gangs, but only if the United Kingdom agrees to hand over two political dissidents who have been openly criticising Army Chief General Asim Munir’s regime. Munir is serving concurrently as both Pakistan's first-ever Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). His appointment as CDF, a newly created and powerful position, was officially approved by President Asif Ali Zardari last week.

The proposal has been widely condemned, raising questions about Pakistan’s willingness to leverage one of the UK’s darkest criminal scandals for political gain.

The grooming gang scandal Pakistan wants to trade on

Islamabad has asked the UK to deport Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, two men involved in grooming gang networks that targeted White minor girls since the late 1990s. These groups were accused of luring, abusing and gang-raping underage children across cities such as Rochdale, Rotherham, Oldham and Telford.

Both men lost their British citizenship in 2018 and renounced their Pakistani nationality, leaving them stateless. Pakistan has now offered to restore their citizenship to enable deportation.

The scandal itself has remained a boiling political issue in Britain. Elon Musk previously amplified the issue on X, claiming that “a quarter of a million” children in the UK were victims, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had launched a national inquiry into the abuse before it stalled.

By offering to take back convicted offenders tied to a national trauma, analysts argue that Pakistan is effectively using child abuse as political currency.

Who Pakistan wants in exchange

Pakistan is pressing for the UK to extradite two men:

Shahzad Akbar: former aide to ex-PM Imran Khan who has accused the current regime of rights abuses

Adil Raja: a former army officer who was court-martialled in absentia for 14 years

Both fled Pakistan around April 2022 and have been living in exile in Britain. They are known for criticising what they call the “hybrid military rule” of General Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The demand reportedly emerged from a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and the British High Commissioner, as reported by Drop Site News. Pakistan’s bargain would see travel identity documents issued to the convicted offenders in exchange for the dissidents.

‘Weaponising grooming gangs’ to silence critics

Dissident Shahzad Akbar responded sharply, accusing the regime of targeting him for speaking out against authoritarianism. He wrote on X that “my publications, broadcasts, and political commentary on human rights abuses in Pakistan, the rise of authoritarianism, unconstitutional amendments, and the current impasse over military appointments have deeply angered the regime.”

New York-based journalist Waqas Ahmed condemned the government’s strategy, stating on X, “Normal people do not think like this, but the Pakistani government does. They have finally figured out a way to weaponise British grooming gangs against overseas activists.”

A deal without a treaty

The UK does not have a formal extradition treaty with Pakistan. However, Section 194 of the UK Extradition Act 2003 permits one-off arrangements, which Pakistan appears eager to exploit.

Diplomats and activists say this proposal exposes the desperation of Pakistan’s military establishment. Instead of addressing human rights concerns, they argue the regime is trading public outrage, child abuse crimes and international law to silence its critics abroad.

The message, according to critics, is clear. Pakistan under General Asim Munir does not mind using criminals as bargaining chips, as long as dissenting voices are silenced.