Pakistani police are searching for the father of a 10-year-old girl who’s body was found at her house in Surrey on August 10, say officials in Punjab.
Sara Sharif was found dead at her home near Woking on August 10 and now Surrey police are trying to trace her father Urfan, his partner Beinash Batool and his brother Faisal Malik. Police say they want to speak to these three people as part of their investigation.
The manhunt for the trio was launched after they fled the country on August 9.
Sara’s autopsy has not established the cause of her death, but it did show she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”, Surrey police said.
Urfan Sharif travelled to Islamabad in Pakistan with Batool and Malik. There are five children with them, ranging from one to 13 years old, officers added. Sharif’s family home is in Jhelum, Punjab, about 135 km from Islamabad.
Officials say police in Pakistan found evidence that Sharif briefly returned to Jhelum, before leaving and going into hiding. An official in Jhelum said he and his men went to Sharif’s native village of Kari but learnt the family left about 20 years ago and never returned.
Surrey police said Sara’s mother had been informed and was being supported by their officers. The force said it was also working with international agencies, including Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the UK Foreign Office to progress their inquiries with Pakistani authorities.
Speaking on Friday, Det Supt Mark Chapman, from the local major crime team, said he wanted to express his “heartfelt condolences”, adding: “Our thoughts are with her mother at this difficult time.”
He said: “While the postmortem has not provided us with an established cause of death at this time, the fact that we now know that Sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period has significantly changed the nature of our investigation, and we have widened the timescale of the focus of our inquiry.
“As a result, we are trying to piece together a picture of Sara’s lifestyle but we cannot do this without the public’s help.
“That is why we are appealing for anyone who knew Sara, had any form of contact with her, or has any other information about her, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to come forward as soon as possible.
“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.”
