Sara Sharif murder: How father, stepmother of 10-year-old were arrested after fleeing to Pakistan from UK

The shocking case of Sara Sharif – the 10-year-old girl found dead at her UK home in August – got another twist on Friday. Sharif’s father Urfan, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik, were nabbed after an extensive police hunt and then deported from Pakistan. They are now facing murder charges in the United Kingdom. But what happened exactly? And what do we know about the shocking case?  Let’s take a closer look: ‘One-way ticket’  As per The Times UK, Urfan on 8 August called businessman Nadeem Riaz. The 41-year-old needed eight tickets to Islamabad – pronto. “He said he needed to book as soon as possible,” Riaz told the newspaper. “I asked why and he said his cousin had passed away in Pakistan. He sounded normal. No different to his usual self.”

When Riaz asked what kind of tickets he wanted, he got a terse answer – “one-way”.

Urfan, Beinash and Faisal then travelled to Islamabad the next day. They were accompanied by Sharif’s five minor siblings. As per The Guardian, Urfan, after landing in Pakistan dialled 999 – emergency services in the UK. He told them that his daughter was dead at their Woking home. The police then found Sharif’s body at the Woking home. While an autopsy did not establish a cause of death, it showed Sharif had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time.” Manhunt is launched As per BBC, police alerted Interpol and launched a manhunt for the adults. The Pakistan police on 10 August announced that they were looking to arrest Urfan. The Sharif family home is in Jhelum, Punjab – around 135 kilometers from the capital. [caption id=“attachment_13129772” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool and her uncle Faisal Malik have been charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. Reuters[/caption] Officer Imran Ahmed said police found evidence that Sharif briefly returned to Jhelum, before leaving and going into hiding. Another officer in Jhelum, Nisar Ahmed, said he and his men went to Sharif’s native village of Kari but learned the family left around 20 years ago and never returned.

By now, two weeks had passed since Sharif’s death.

The Mirror quoted Rawalpindi Region police chief Khurram Ali on 24 August as saying that the police was doing its “level best” and was “close to locating them”. The Surrey Police, meanwhile, issued a fresh call for information.  The Evening Times quoted Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman of the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team  as saying, “It is now two weeks since Sara’s body was found and the impact of her tragic death continues to be felt deeply by the local and wider community, including our officers and staff. “We would like to thank those people who have already come forward and reported information to us. However, we know that there will be lots of people in the Woking community and beyond who will have had contact with Sara who may not already have come forward, and we would encourage them to do so. “Any information is better than no information – although you might think it’s insignificant, it might be vital to the investigation and in helping us to bring justice for Sara.” On 29 August, Sharif’s grandfather Muhammad Sharif in an interview with the Sunday Times called on the trio to turn themselves in to the authorities. “We want them to present themselves,” Muhammad added. “We want them to resolve the matter as the privacy of our house is affected due to frequent police raids.” Detectives told Sky News they are ‘blind’ in the search for trio and called reports of Pakistan police being close to finding them were “fake news”. As per Sky News, an inquest was then opened into Sharif’s death on 29 August. The outlet quoted the coroner Simon Wickens as saying the inquest would be adjourned until February to allow the police to investigate. Wickens also offered “sincere condolences” to all those “touched by Sara’s short life”. Twist in tale, arrest Then, on 6 September, a twist in the tale emerged. Urfan and Batool released a video to various media outlets.

As per BBC, while Urfan remained silent, Baitool called Sharif’s death as ‘an incident’.

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Batool, reading from a notebook, also claimed they feared being tortured or killed by the Pakistan police. She accused the authorities of harassing their family and claimed they were willing to cooperate with the UK in the matter. “The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear for safety,” Batool said, as per Sky News. Muhammad then told the BBC that Sharif’s siblings had been living at his home since 10 August. [caption id=“attachment_13129782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A police officer arrives with one of Sara Sharif’s siblings. AP[/caption] On Monday, Sharif’s siblings, ranging in age from 1 to 13, were recovered by Pakistani police from Urfan’s family home in central Pakistan. A court ordered the children to be placed in the custody of the Child Protection Bureau in Rawalpindi city, close to Islamabad. On Wednesday, the three suspects were arrested by police in Pakistan. Sharif’s mother speaks The BBC quoted Surrey Police as saying Sharif’s mother Olga has been apprised of the latest developments and has the support of the force Olga, speaking to The Sun newspaper, said, “It is a huge relief and something I didn’t think would happen this quickly. “I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders but there is still a long way to go before I feel closure.” As per The National News, Olga separated from Urfan in 2015. Sharif and her elder brother had been staying with her till 2019 – until the family court in a verdict said they should stay with their father. Olga said that while she had visitation rights, she found it incredibly difficult to maintain those as time went on. Olga, earlier speaking to Polish TV programme Uwaga!, said of seeing her daughter’s body, “One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised.”

“Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.”

Meanwhile, the trio were put on a flight to Gatwick Airport – where they were arrested as soon as they got off the plane. However, some reports stated that Urfan, Batool and Malik had themselves purchased tickets to the UK and flown in vi Dubai. “Two men, aged 41 years and 28 years, and a woman, aged 29 years, were arrested on suspicion of murder,” Surrey Police said in a statement. “They are currently in custody and will be interviewed in due course." “Sara’s mother has been informed of this latest update and is being supported by specialist officers. Our thoughts remain with her and those affected by Sara’s death at this very difficult time. “This has been an extremely fast-moving, challenging and complex enquiry and we remain absolutely committed to conducting a thorough investigation into Sara’s death. “We will not be commenting any further at this point and will provide further updates as and when we are able to.” Speaking to BBC, a lawyer claiming to represent the trio said he was contacted by Batool while she was in Pakistan. “We got in touch with the police here, we got in touch with various travel agents and long story short they’ve arrived,” Attiq Malik from Liberty Law Solicitors told BBC. “The next step really is to resolve matters using the rule of law and see what happens next.” Early Friday, the trio were charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. [caption id=“attachment_13129792” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] This court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of family members of Sara Sharif (left to right) Beinash Batool, (stepmother), Faisal Malik, (uncle) and Urfan Sharif, (father) appearing in the dock at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Friday. AP[/caption] They appeared for a brief hearing at Guildford Magistrates’ Court near Woking, speaking only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses. They were not asked to enter pleas and were ordered detained until their next court hearing on Tuesday. A Jhelum police official told The Guardian they were “relieved” to have concluded a “really complicated case”. With inputs from agencies