Two grooming gang ringleaders from Rochdale could be deported from Britain in a matter of months, a Pakistani official has revealed.
Successive governments have been pushing to kick out Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan for years following their convictions.
In June, GB News revealed that deportations were raised by the Foreign Office with Pakistani representatives.
But in return, the country said it wanted Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to be allowed to fly to Britain in exchange for accepting deportees - with Rauf and Khan specifically used to negotiate.
The ban on PIA was later lifted - and now, negotiations are said to have stepped up.
A senior Pakistani Government official, involved in the negotiations, said the country's Interior Ministry must provide legal clearance for the pair to be returned to the country.
Qari Abdul Rauf could finally be deported from Britain
| PAThe official told The Times: "I believe a resolution could be reached within a month or two, although there are some legal and political complexities involved.
"Currently, the case is being handled by Pakistan’s interior ministry. Once they provide clearance, it will be passed to the Foreign Ministry, which will finalise the acceptance of Rauf and Khan."
A judge had ordered the Home Office to give the vile duo the boot almost a decade ago.
But they then deportation because they renounced their Pakistani citizenship and became "stateless", just days before a court appeal against the Home Office's deportation drive.
Osama Malik, a UK-trained immigration law expert, said he was surprised that Pakistan would take the pair back after they gave up their citizenship.
GROOMING GANGS: BRITAIN'S SHAME - READ MORE:
- The three maps that reveal the TRUE SCALE of Britain's rape gang crisis - and it's much bigger than you realise
- Nearly 1,000 closed grooming cases REOPENED as Yvette Cooper sets out inquiry details
- Michael Gove confirms attempted grooming gangs 'cover-up' by Whitehall officials: 'It was absolutely vital that the truth be told'
Pakistan International Airlines had a ban on flying to and from Britain lifted
| GETTYMalik also raised fears that Islamabad would demand something "significant" in return.
"What makes it even more surprising and legally complicated is the fact that both these former convicts have apparently voluntarily surrendered their Pakistani nationality yet the Pakistani government is showing willingness to accept them," he said.
"There are millions of Pakistanis of British origin and this creates an awful precedent for the future," Malik fumed.
"It is hoped that Pakistan will receive something significant in return, including investment from British companies and an increase in health and education-related aid for the country."
Deportation negotiations for the pair are said to have stepped up after David Lammy's lifting of a ban on PIA
| REUTERSQari Abdul Rauf made headlines just months ago after he was revealed to be building a house in Pakistan - while still claiming £285,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid to fight his looming deportation.
The father-of-five was released after serving just two-and-a-half years of a six-year sentence for his role in the sexual assault of 47 girls, some as young as 12.
He still works as a delivery driver in Rochdale.
GB News has approached the Foreign Office for comment regarding the Pakistani official's remarks.