A British paedophile who fled to Pakistan before he was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for child rape has been arrested.

Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 41, was sentenced in absentia in 2016 after being found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

During the trial Hussain, formerly of Rochdale, claimed a family member had died and the judge gave him permission to attend a funeral somewhere in the UK - he then fled the country.

His conviction came on the heels of an investigation by the Greater Manchester Police force into the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rochdale.

Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 41, formerly of Rochdale, was captured by a joint UK-Pakistan force in the city of Sangla in Punjab

Greater Manchester Police released this photograph of the house where Hussain was staying in Pakistan prior to his arrest

The British High Commission in Islamabad said Hussain was arrested in a joint UK-Pakistan operation in the central city of Sangla, in Punjab, on Saturday.

Hussain was one of ten men who were sentenced in 2016.

The central complainant in the case walked into a police station shortly after widespread media coverage of the 2012 convictions of nine Asian defendants for grooming white girls for sex in the town.

She told officers that from the age of 14 she had been repeatedly sexually groomed by a large number of men

She also said that 'hundreds' of men would ring her up wanting her to go out and have sex with them.

The white victim was said to be an 'extremely vulnerable young woman' who had endured 'a very difficult home life'.

Seven other complainants, who were aged 13 to 22 at the time, also came forward to give evidence at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, which secured convictions against a number of the defendants, who were all of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage.

The investigation was part of Operation Doublet which looked into the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rochdale.

British authorities said they had been working closely with their Pakistani counterparts since 2017 to secure Hussain's arrest and extradition.

'The arrest... is a significant achievement, and another excellent example of UK-Pakistan cooperation in tackling international criminality,' said British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew in a statement.

Hussain fled during his trial where he was sentenced to 19 years in absentia at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court

'It sends a clear message that Pakistan is not a safe haven for international criminals,' he added.

Hussain is set to appear before a Pakistani court ahead of any decision regarding his possible extradition.

Last October, a man wanted in connection with the murder of five children and three adults was extradited from Pakistan to the UK.