- Delayed Request for Search in Sara Sharif Case
- Investigation into Family’s Movement in Pakistan
- Efforts to Locate Sara’s Father, Stepmother, and Uncle
Pakistani authorities were instructed to find Sara Sharif’s family five days after her body was found in the UK.
The request was reportedly made via Interpol. Surrey police have not disclosed when they requested Interpol to begin the investigation.
The body of 10-year-old Sara was discovered in Woking on August 10th.
About their murder investigation, British police wish to speak with her father, Urfan Sharif, his companion, Beinash Batool, and his brother, Faisal Malik.
According to new information regarding the Pakistan investigation, police now believe that the suspects stayed with family in Pakistan until early on August 13. The police claim they do not know where they went in the country after this date.
We have been following the trail with my colleagues.
It is chilly over 8,000 kilometers (4,971 miles) from Woking.
We are traversing the narrow dirt roads of a small hamlet near Domeli in central Punjab, Pakistan, which are surrounded by fields, forests, and imposing peaks on the horizon.
According to the Pakistani police, this is the last known location visited by Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool, and Faisal Malik. According to their investigation, the family arrived late at night on August 12 at the residence of Mr. Sharif’s sister and her brother-in-law and left around 05:00 the following morning. The authorities claim they do not know where they went from there.
We visit the family home, but they merely say Mr. Sharif’s brother-in-law was arrested days ago and hasn’t been seen. Ameer Afzal, the uncle of the brother-in-law, does communicate with us.
Mr. Afzal informs us, “Yes, Urfan Sharif visited us,” My family informed me in the morning that he spent the night with his family, though I did not meet him personally.
“We are extremely concerned as to why the authorities detained my nephew. If there is a problem with the household of Urfan, we have nothing to do with it.”
The police have begun to disclose additional details regarding the family’s initial days in Pakistan. It was already known that they landed at the Islamabad airport early on August 10th. The Woking residence where British officers found Sara’s body was where Mr. Sharif called 999.
The coroner determined that she sustained “multiple and extensive injuries” that were presumably sustained over an extended period.
Pakistani police say family members drove Mr. Sharif and his family 130km (81 miles) from Islamabad Airport to Jhelum. They then spent nearly two days at the family residence before moving to his sister’s residence around 23:00 local time on August 12 for a few hours.
“His sister-in-law informed me that they were leaving the house at 5:00 a.m., so I asked them, ‘You arrived at midnight, and now you’re leaving so quickly?'” Regional police superintendent of the Punjab police, Syed Khurram Ali, informs us.
“They stated that we have something essential to do, but did not specify what. When we inquired as to the purpose of the visit, the family stated that it was routine.”
During our conversation, Mr. Ali informed us that Interpol sent a request to Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency or FIA on August 15 for the Punjab police to begin searching for the family. Sara’s corpse was discovered on August 10th.
We have been attempting to determine the cause of the five-day delay. Since August 10th, Surrey Police have been in contact with international partners, but they will not disclose when they requested Interpol to ask Pakistan’s police to search for the family. We received no response from the Pakistan FIA. On August 16, according to the Pakistani police, they then assembled a team to commence the search.
Three weeks after Sara’s body was found, authorities still don’t know where her father, stepmother, and uncle are. The police informed us that they now have two squads dedicated to locating them and that they have conducted searches in Jhelum, Sialkot, and Mansehra, with new information arriving frequently.
Mr. Ali believes it would be extremely challenging for them to remain in hiding for an extended period.
“They will contact numerous individuals for their various needs. They cannot remain hidden indefinitely. The police are pursuing them around the clock. I am confident that we will find them.”
