A privately funded parliamentary inquiry in the United Kingdom has claimed that at least 250,000 girls were subjected to gang rape, trafficking, torture and other forms of sexual abuse over several decades, with the perpetrators overwhelmingly identified as men of Pakistani Muslim heritage. The 219-page report, led by Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe and survivor advocate Sammy Woodhouse, alleged widespread institutional failures by police, social services, schools, the NHS and successive governments that allowed organised abuse networks to operate unchecked.
The inquiry found evidence of grooming gang activity in at least 149 local authority districts across the UK and claimed that around 87 per cent of those convicted in group-based child sexual exploitation cases had Muslim names. The report detailed how vulnerable girls, some as young as 11, were groomed with gifts, alcohol and drugs before being subjected to repeated sexual abuse, trafficking and violence. Survivors also accused authorities of ignoring complaints, destroying evidence and failing to protect victims.
Meanwhile, members of the Kashmiri diaspora staged a protest outside the European Parliament in Brussels, condemning alleged human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Demonstrators called for international attention to reported killings, disappearances and crackdowns on protesters in the region.
Addressing the gathering, protesters criticised the silence of global institutions, including the European Parliament, and demanded accountability from Pakistani authorities. The demonstrations follow reports of a crackdown on members of the Joint Awami Action Committee, a group advocating for basic rights such as food, electricity and healthcare in PoK.
Speaking in the British Parliament, UK Conservative Party leader and MP Bob Blackman condemned Pakistan's actions against protesters, describing them as "despicable". He cited reports that between 11 and 30 people had been killed and more than 200 injured during the crackdown. Blackman said 30 members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir had written to the UK Foreign Secretary seeking intervention and urged the British government to publicly raise the issue with Pakistan.
