What is happening to Sara Sharif’s siblings?
Questions remain over what will happen to Sara’s siblings and half-siblings, who were taken to Pakistan, after murder convictions on Wednesday.
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The return of verdicts in the criminal trial of Sara Sharif’s father, stepmother and uncle has allowed information from proceedings in the family court to be released after a High Court judge ruled it was in the public interest for it to be published.
On Wednesday, Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool were convicted of the 10-year-old’s murder, with her uncle, Faisal Malik, found guilty of causing or allowing her death.
But questions remain over what will happen to Sara’s siblings and half-siblings, who were taken to Pakistan by Sharif, Batool and Malik after they fled following her murder.
The children remain in the city of Jhelum, Pakistan, with their paternal grandfather, with efforts to return them to the UK still ongoing. Their identities are protected by a court order.
In a High Court order approved on Thursday, Mr Justice Williams ruled that information about ongoing and previous court proceedings relating to Sara and her siblings could be published, following applications from the PA news agency and several other media organisations.
This includes information about ongoing efforts by Surrey County Council to bring Sara’s siblings back to the UK following her death.
Some information still cannot be published to protect the identity of the other children.
The children were taken to Pakistan by Sharif, Batool and Malik on August 9 last year, a day before Sara’s body was discovered in a bunk bed at the family home in Woking, Surrey.
Upon arrival, they were left in the care of their paternal grandfather but were taken into state care after being discovered by Pakistani police during efforts to locate Sharif, Batool and Malik.
By the time the three adults returned to the UK in September 2023, the children had been made wards of court by Mr Justice Hayden, meaning they needed to be returned to the country.
Surrey County Council were then allowed to apply to the High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, to begin efforts to bring the children back to the UK.
It remains unclear whether a court in Pakistan will authorise their return, or when this will take place.
Sharif, Batool and Malik will be sentenced on Tuesday.