3 family members sought in death of 10-year-old girl arrested in the UK after arriving from Pakistan

Sara Sharif was found dead with extensive injuries at her home in Woking, on the southern outskirts of London on August 10

By AP

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Urfan Sharif (L), Beinash Batool, and Faisal Malik. — AFP file

Published: Thu 14 Sep 2023, 2:09 PM

Last updated: Thu 14 Sep 2023, 2:10 PM

Three family members of a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her UK home were arrested in Pakistan on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and flown to Britain, where they were taken into police custody on arrival.

Sara Sharif was found dead with extensive injuries at her home in Woking, on the southern outskirts of London, on Aug. 10. British police identified her father Urfan Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Malik as people they wanted to speak to in the investigation.

The three had travelled to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, a day before police discovered the girl's body, with the couple going into hiding in central Pakistan and police launching a manhunt.

They were arrested by police in Pakistan earlier Wednesday, and handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency, which flew them to Britain from Sialkot in eastern Punjab province. They arrived at London's Gatwick Airport on Wednesday evening.

Sara Sharif, who was found dead in Woking. — AFP file

Police said two men who are 41 and 28 years old and a 29-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder after disembarking from their flight.

“They are currently in custody and will be interviewed in due course," police said in a statement.

“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,” police added.

An autopsy of the girl did not establish a cause of death but showed that she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time,” British police said in an earlier statement.

The girl's five siblings, ranging in age from 1 to 13, were recovered by Pakistani police on Monday evening from Urfan Sharif’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.

Pakistani police had earlier detained 10 relatives of Urfan Sharif, including his father, brothers and cousins, for interrogation in an attempt to pressure the couple to surrender.