In a tragic sequence of events, ten-year-old Sara Sharif was discovered deceased in her family home located in Woking, Surrey on August 10. Her cause of death was associated with “multiple and extensive injuries”. The discovery was made a day following the departure of her father, Urfan Sharif, his partner, Beinash Batool and five other minors aged between one and thirteen from the UK.
Following their departure, the aforementioned children were reportedly in the custody of Sara’s grandfather, Muhammad Sharif, at his dwelling in the north-eastern Pakistani city of Jhelum. In Mr. Sharif’s narration to the media, he maintained a stern decision to safeguard the children with him in Pakistan, preventing their departure alongside Urfan and Beinash. Despite numerous queries regarding the whereabouts of the adults, Mr. Sharif asserted that none had enquired after the children. Consequently, he believed his residence to be the safest haven for them.
Immersed in grief, traumatized siblings of Sara Sharif were forcefully separated from their grandfather’s house by local law enforcement. Witnesses accounted the incident as distressing, with the minors expressing tearful reluctance to leave their grandfather’s premises. The police assured Muhammad Sharif of the safety of his grandchildren and confirmed their return to Mr. Sharif’s custody after the unsettling event.
Although Mr. Sharif assured his compliance with a court appearance, the necessitation for the children’s presence remains confidential. In addition to these developments, Urfan Sharif’s sisters decried the police operation, recounting the children’s distress at being whisked away. Details of the police raid, conducted at approximately 16:30 local time, were confirmed by eyewitnesses.
Mr. Sharif levelled accusations towards the police, asserting the destruction of his security cameras and gate. He also claimed harassment from the authorities along with illegal detainment of his family members, and asserted his accusation of false cases contrived to deepen pressure on the family. Police officials have refuted these allegations.
Despite the hasty departure of Sara’s father and stepmother from the UK, the recent emergence of a video presents a willingness to cooperate with UK authorities from the couple. In the video, Beinash Batool, Sara’s stepmother, referred to the causality as “an incident”.
With heavy allegations of harassment and fears of torture from the Pakistani law enforcement, the family has retreated into hiding. Meanwhile, Jhelum’s chief of police dismissed these allegations, assuring their baseless nature.
The unsettling chain of events was instigated by an emergency call made from Pakistan by Urfan Sharif, right after arriving in Islamabad, which led to the discovery of Sara’s body. In a simultaneously unfolding subplot, Urfan and his partner, Beinash, continue to evade authorities, leaving a haunting trail of questions in their wake.