Amid social media outrage over the prevalence of Muslim grooming gangs in the United Kingdom, the State of Pakistan attempted to deviate the public discourse to ‘Islamophobia’ instead of sympathising with the victims.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday (13th January), it claimed, “We note with deep concern the increasingly racist and Islamophobic political and media commentary in the UK that is aimed at conflating the reprehensible actions of a few individuals with the entire 1.7 million British Pakistani diaspora.”
Pakistan alleged that its diaspora was somehow contributing to the UK’s growth, development and freedom.
To defend increasing criticism of Muslim grooming gangs, it claimed, “An exceptionally large number of predominantly Muslim soldiers from what is now Pakistan served in the British Indian army and laid down their lives for the cause of democracy in both World Wars.”
🔊: Statement by the Spokesperson regarding recent spate of xenophobic remarks directed towards the Pakistani community in the UK
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) January 13, 2025
🔗⬇️https://t.co/4cr21tnSgh pic.twitter.com/hwmHdHIdjM
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs dubbed the public debate surrounding Pakistani grooming gangs as ‘xenophobic’, adding that British Pakistanis are the backbone of the UK’s service, retail and health sectors.
While continuing to not condemn the grooming gangs, it further stated, “Many British Pakistanis hold high public office, and thousands serve their communities as Members of Parliament, mayors, councillors, and as members of local police and municipal services.”
“British Pakistanis have excelled in sports and arts. Their cuisine and music enriches British culture. To demonize such a large and diverse community on the basis of the actions of a few individuals needs to be condemned,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
In conclusion, Pakistan did not condemn its diaspora grooming gangs and tried to downplay the heinous crimes as ‘reprehensible actions of a few individuals.’ It then went on to narrate how Pakistanis are ‘enriching’ the culture of the United Kingdom.
The grooming gangs of the United Kingdom
Investigations into cases of child sexual abuse in the UK revealed that grooming gangs comprising mostly British-Pakistani men have been sexually exploiting children across cities in the country.
In 2023, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak established a task force led by the National Crime Agency to address the grave threat posed by these gangs.
Rochdale, Rotherham, Oxford, Telford, Leeds, Birmingham, Norwich, Burnley, High Wycombe, Leicester, Dewsbury, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Bristol, Halifax, Newcastle, Huddersfield, and Hull are some of the regions in the United Kingdom where the Islamist grooming gangs sexually exploited children.
Last year in November, twenty men were found guilty of raping young girls in the UK and were sentenced to over 219 years in prison.
In 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse published its final report, in which it described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.
The inquiry looked into child abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014.
Professor Alexis Jay, who led the inquiry and uncovered the massive scale of grooming gangs in the UK, has said that she felt “frustrated” that none of the 20 recommendations put forward by the inquiry had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion.