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Sara Sharif’s grandfather urges fugitive son to hand himself in

Urfan Sharif and two others are thought to have travelled to Islamabad on August 9 and are wanted for questioning.

George Lithgow
Sunday 27 August 2023 06:49 EDT
Urfan Sharif, left, and Beinash Batool are wanted for questioning (Surrey Police/ PA)
Urfan Sharif, left, and Beinash Batool are wanted for questioning (Surrey Police/ PA) (PA Media)

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The grandfather of a 10-year-old girl found dead at home in Woking has urged his fugitive son to hand himself in.

The body of Sara Sharif was found at a property on Hammond Road after police were called from Pakistan by her father on August 10.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Muhammad Sharif, 68, urged his son Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, 28, to hand themselves in to police.

We want them to present themselves

Muhammad Sharif

The trio are thought to have travelled to Islamabad on August 9 and are wanted for questioning.

They travelled with five children aged between one and 13 years old, police said.

Muhammad Sharif said his son had briefly visited the family home in the city of Jhelum, Punjab province, earlier this month before he disappeared again.

He said Urfan did not tell him about Sara’s death.

“We want them to present themselves,” he told the paper.

“We want them to resolve the matter as the privacy of our house is affected due to frequent police raids.”

Surrey Police is continuing to appeal for information to help them piece together a picture of Sara’s lifestyle prior to her death.

They widened the timescale of their investigation after the post-mortem examination revealed that Sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries, likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time.

Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, is being supported by specialist officers.

Renewing the appeal last week, Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: “We would like to thank those people who have already come forward and reported information to us.

“However, we know that there will be lots of people in the Woking community and beyond who will have had contact with Sara who may not already have come forward, and we would encourage them to do so.

“Any information is better than no information – although you might think it’s insignificant, it might be vital to the investigation and in helping us to bring justice for Sara.”

Lawyers in the UK have said Pakistan’s government is unlikely to block an extradition request in connection to Sara’s death.

There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan but people have been returned from the Asian country before.

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