Five children who travelled from UK to Pakistan with Sara Sharif's dad returned to grandfather after police raid
12 September 2023, 00:13 | Updated: 12 September 2023, 00:16
Five children who travelled to Pakistan from the UK with Sara Sharif's father are back with their grandfather hours after a police raid.
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The five kids had been removed from their grandfather's home by police in Pakistan earlier on Monday.
Officers raided the house as they continued to hunt Urfan Sharif and his partner, Beinash Batool.
Muhammad Sharif, Sara’s grandfather, said the children had been hiding inside his home but did not say how long they had been there.
A court ruling to decide where the children will reside is set to take place on Tuesday.
Read More: Police in Pakistan detain 10 close relatives of Sara Sharif in bid to draw out father
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Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, his partner, Beinash Batool, and brother Faisal Malik, who are all wanted by police in the UK following the girl’s death last month, were not present when the raid was carried out on Monday.
According to the BBC, Muhammad Sharif accused Pakistani police officers of destroying CCTV cameras and damaging the gates at his home in the north-eastern city of Jhelum.
One neighbour said: "Police officers including female officers raided the house. They broke the CCTV at the entrance and entered it.
"While inside, more officers arrived outside and stopped the traffic. They stopped everyone from filming on their mobile phones."
Surrey Police want to speak to Urfan, Batool and Malik, 28, who fled the UK for Pakistan after Sara was found dead and alone at the family home in Woking on August 10.
A post mortem examination found she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” over a “sustained and extended" period of time.
Last week, Sara’s father and stepmother accused the media of “making up lies” about them as they spoke publicly for the first time about her death.
In a video Urfan and Batool said they were willing to co-operate with authorities and “fight our case in court”, but did not specifically state a return to the UK.
In the footage, the husband and wife, sat side-by-side on a sofa as she read out a prepared statement.
She said: "Firstly, I would like to talk about Sara. Sara's death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on.”
Batool also said her family have gone into hiding as "everyone is scared for their safety.
She continued: "The kids are unable to attend school as they're afraid to leave the house. No one is leaving the house.
"The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear for safety."
An inquest opened into Sara's death last week heard how medics are still unable to establish a cause of death but it is likely to have been "unnatural".
A previous post-mortem revealed she suffered “multiple and extensive injuries which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”.
