Who Is Lord Nazir Ahmed? Pakistan-Origin UK Politician Convicted Of Child Sex Offences

Who is Lord Nazir Ahmed: A 64-year-old British politician of Pakistani origin was Wednesday found guilty of sexual offences against children in cases from the 1970s. Lord Nazir Ahmed was a teenager when he sexually assaulted a boy and attempted rape on a young girl, for which the Sheffield Crown Court found him guilty. Ahmed had previously denied the charges.

A controversial figure, Ahmed was associated with the United Kingdom's Labour Party. He was made a peer in the 1990s on the recommendation of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. Women have previously accused Ahmed of sexual impropriety allegedly carried out while he held a position in the House of Lords.

He resigned from his post in November 2020 following the allegations and a committee's findings in their favour.

As per the BBC, Ahmed's two older brothers were also accused of assaulting the young boy whom the ex-Labour leader abused. The two other men did not face a trial but the jury presiding over the case reportedly concluded they were guilty of the crimes they were accused of.

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The abuse of both survivors occurred in the same period when Ahmed was around 16 years old and they were younger than him. As quoted in various reports, the survivors got in touch when the man emailed the woman writing, "I have evidence against that paedophile."

"What they did to you was utterly wrong and it’s time now to seek justice for the little boy who could not protect himself," the woman reportedly told the male survivor over call. A phone recording of the same was played to the jury during the court hearing.

A sentence in the case is due to be pronounced on February 4.

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Who is Lord Nazir Ahmed?

Hailing from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Nazir Ahmed migrated with his family to Rotherham at a young age. It was there that the crimes he was convicted of this week were reported to have occurred. He began his political career with the centre-left Labour Party.

He was most notably known for backing and advocating for Pakistan's view on Kashmir that collided with India's and representing the issue in the British political arena. He resigned from the Labour Party in 2013 amid allegations of anti-semitic speech.