Sara Sharif: Pakistan police join hunt for father sought after murder of girl, 10

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Police in Pakistan have joined the hunt for the father of a girl, 10, who is wanted for questioning after her alleged murder.

Sara Sharif was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August after officers were called from Pakistan by Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, at around 2.50am.

A post-mortem examination revealed Sara had suffered from “multiple and extensive” injuries, which were likely caused over a “sustained and extended” period of time.

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police major crime team, said Mr Sharif, his partner, Beinash Batool, and his brother, Faisal Malik, were wanted for questioning as part of the murder investigation.

He said it was believed Mr Sharif travelled to Islamabad on 9 August, a day before Sara’s death was discovered, with his partner Ms Batool, and his brother Mr Malik.

They travelled with five children aged between one and 13 years old, he added.

Officers in the eastern Punjab province said on Saturday that they were seeking to arrest Mr Sharif.

Imran Ahmed, of Pakistan Police, said officers found evidence that Mr Sharif had briefly returned to Jhelum, Punjab, around 135km (84 miles) from the capital, where his family has a home, before leaving again.

Another officer in Jhelum, Nisar Ahmed, said he and his men went to Mr Sharif’s native village of Kari but learned the family left around 20 years ago and never returned.

UK police said they were working with international agencies, including Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the UK Foreign Office to progress their inquiries with Pakistani authorities.

There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan, but Detective Mark Chapman, of Surrey Police, said that people have been extradited from the country to the UK before.

Mr Chapman has asked the public to help piece together a picture of Sara’s lifestyle, appealing to anyone who knew Sara to come forward with any information.

“In the meantime, I would like to reassure you that we are doing everything possible, including working with our partners and international agencies, to ensure that those responsible for Sara’s tragic and untimely death are brought to justice,” he said.

Officers are not looking to identify anyone else in connection with the investigation.

Sara’s mother is being supported by specialist officers and has not been in contact with Sara’s father, UK police have said.

Olga Sharif lost a custody battle for Sara in 2019 and only learned of her death from the police.

She told The Sun she had only seen Sara and her 13-year-old son, Sara’s brother, two times in the past four years.

Ms Sharif said she bonded with Sara over a shared love of the Disney movie Frozen and other films. “She would walk in and say, ‘Mum, look how pretty I look’,” she said.