Amidst charges of sexual misconduct, British-Pakistani steps down from House of Lords

After many Kashmiri women accused Lord Nazir Ahmed of exploiting them using his position as a parliamentarian, the British-Pakistani announced retirement from the House of Lords in the UK Parliament. Following the allegations of sexual misconduct, the House of Lords Conduct Committee recommended that he should have been expelled.

London: Amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, Lord Nazir Ahmed has announced retirement from the House of Lords, the upper house of the United Kingdom's Parliament.

The British-Pakistani resigned on November 14 but a House of Lords Conduct Committee recommended that he should have been expelled.

"...Lord Ahmed breached the Code of Conduct by failing to act on his honour in the discharge of his parliamentary activities by agreeing to use his position as a member of the House to help a member of the public but then; sexually assaulting the complainant, lying to the complainant about his intentions to help her with a complaint to the Metropolitan Police regarding exploitation by a faith healer, exploiting the complainant emotionally and sexually despite knowing she was vulnerable," stated the committee's report.

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The development comes after several women of Kashmiri-origin accused Nazir of exploiting women using his position as a parliamentarian.

According to the nearly 300-page report, one of the victims stated that "when she asked Lord Ahmed for help, he initially made unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature with her and later held out the promise of using his influence to help her, when in fact he aimed to have sex with her."

"The Lord Conduct Committee has this morning published a report into the conduct of Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham, concluding for the first time that a peer should be expelled. The report finds Lord Ahmed to have breached the Code of Conduct for 'failing to act on his honour over sexual assault and exploitation. As a fellow per, I believe that Mr Nazir has pre-empted his expulsion by opting to resign from the House of Lords yesterday night," said one of his colleagues who didn't wish to be named.

Interestingly, "he did not deny that a sexual relationship had taken place" but refused to accept that he was in breach of the Code of Conduct.

Lord Nazir is not new to controversies. The 63-year-old was born in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir but migrated to the UK as a child with his parents. He has been an ardent supporter of Khalistani terror groups and a critic of the Indian government's policies.

Nazir Ahmed has been a consistent critic of the Indian government's policies, particularly concerning Jammu and Kashmir. He has also been a supporter of Khalistani groups.

Though he projected himself as a crusader of Kashmir cause yet in reality he used his position to sexually exploit Kashmiri women.

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A group of Kashmiri women in London launched a Hollywood style #MeToo protest campaign against politicians including Nazir and faith healers who are exploiting vulnerable women in the Kashmiri community, the committee report stated.

Earlier this year, he and his two brothers were charged with sexual assault on minor girls and boys in 1970s. "Nazir Ahmed - a serious sexual assault against a boy under the age of 11 and the indecent assault of the same boy; two counts of attempting to rape a girl who was under the age of 16. All charges relate to dates between 1971 and 1974," the UK's media reported in April.

Though Lord Nazir's tainted credentials are well known, the Pakistani media is covering up his ouster as voluntary retirement.

ANI