Sara Sharif’s father, uncle, and stepmother have been arrested in connection with her death, approximately one month after they left the UK for Pakistan, just a day before the discovery of the 10-year-old girl’s lifeless body.
Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41, her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 29, and her uncle, Faisal Malik, 28, left Sialkot airport in Pakistan on Wednesday morning after negotiations with the police and British authorities, sources told the Guardian. They are understood to have landed at Gatwick Airport on Wednesday evening.
Sara Sharif was found dead at her home in Woking on August 10, and her father, Urfan Sharif, made a call to emergency services from Islamabad.
A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained period.
Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Malik had left the UK the day before the discovery but were arrested at Gatwick Airport after returning voluntarily.
Interpol had been involved in locating them. The family in Pakistan feared for their safety and expressed a willingness to cooperate with UK authorities.
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Sara’s five siblings, aged one to 13, are in a government care facility in Pakistan.
Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, separated from her husband in 2015 and hardly recognized her daughter due to her extensive injuries, describing the heartbreaking experience of seeing her in the morgue.
Police are conducting a thorough investigation into Sara’s death.