Reform United Kingdom (UK) leader Nigel Farage has threatened visa bans, restrictions on Pakistani nationals’ assets in London and flight bans if the country refuses to take back convicted British child sex offender Shabir Ahmed who remains in the United Kingdom.
Speaking at an event in Hythe, Kent, Farage called on Pakistan to accept Ahmed’s return and warned that his party will consider economic measures against countries that refuse to take back their nationals.
“I’m sorry, Pakistan, but you need to take back that man now living freely in the Northwest of England who was at the heart of one of the most appalling, they call them grooming gangs, but I think rape gangs, frankly, would be more appropriate.”
He added that his party will consider visa bans, restrictions on Pakistani nationals’ assets in London and flight bans if Pakistan does not comply. Farage also said that his party could consider tariffs as part of the measures.
“People will accept their bad guys back and by the way, we’ll accept our bad guys back, too.”
Farage’s remarks come nearly two months after Pakistani officials warned that the dispute over Ahmed’s return could affect Islamabad’s cooperation with Britain on the return of migrants and other areas of bilateral relations.
In August, senior Pakistani government officials told an international media outlet that Pakistan had been cooperating with successive British governments by facilitating the return of failed asylum seekers, visa overstayers and immigration offenders.
The officials warned that Britain’s insistence on sending Ahmed back to Pakistan could undermine existing arrangements for migrant returns as well as cooperation on intelligence, security and organised crime.
One Pakistani official told the newspaper: “Britain’s continued pressure over the Shabir Ahmed case appears to be driven by domestic political pressures rather than by an appreciation of the legal and diplomatic complexities involved. This risks undermining broader bilateral cooperation.”
Ahmed was released from prison in July after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for multiple child rape offences. British authorities stripped him of his British citizenship following his conviction but have faced legal obstacles to deporting him.
Pakistan has refused to accept his return, arguing that he renounced his Pakistani citizenship and spent most of his life in Britain.
Pakistani officials also cited government figures showing that the number of Pakistani nationals returned from Britain rose from 1,158 to 1,437 in 2025-26, an increase of 24 percent. Returns of failed asylum seekers increased from 279 to 486, while returns involving foreign offenders and visa overstayers rose from 879 to 951.
