Sara Sharif’s grandfather has vowed to block the murdered schoolgirl’s siblings from returning to the UK as he insists they will be safer in Pakistan.
Muhammad Sharif, 69, claims the five children are not willing to go back to Britain despite the UK government’s best efforts to have them.
They were taken to Pakistan by Sara’s killer father Urfan Sharif, 43, stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle Faisal who fled hours after Sara died, with the children leaving behind the country they had spent the most of their lives.
Also left behind was the lifeless body of 10-year-old Sara at the family home in Woking, Surrey who over the years had suffered an unimaginable ordeal at the hands of her father and stepmother.
This included them bounding her arms and legs and covering her head in a plastic bag secured with parcel tape while they battered her with a cricket bat, metal pole and a rolling pin, strangling her until her neck broke, and burning her with an iron and biting her.
When police found her broken little body dumped under the pink covers of her bunk bed by the fleeing family there were so many injuries – at least 71 externally and 29 fractures – that it was impossible to say which wound caused her death.
Despite the court evidence and guilty verdict, Muhammad Sharif, who is fighting to keep Sara’s siblings, continues to believe his son is innocent.
The Sunday Times reports he said: ‘While I was unaware of the extent of the mistreatment and abuse, I did recognise that Batool, the stepmother, was not treating Sara well … I cannot understand that she was subjected to brutal beatings. Beinash Batool’s conduct as a stepmother towards Sara …. was inappropriate; she frequently scolded and beat her.’
Muhammad Sharif appeared in a court in the Pakistani city of Jhelum to try and get custody of Sara’s five siblings, who are aged between one and 13
Urfan Sharif, 42, was emotionless as he was found guilty of murdering his daughter
Sara Sharif’s father faces life in prison for the murder of the schoolgirl (pictured)
Sara’s siblings, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been made wards of the court meaning they cannot be removed from England or Wales without approval.
But an application by Surrey county council to the High Court in Lahore to bring the children back to the UK is now being fought by their grandfather.
The Sunday Times reports that Muhammad, a former army officer and father of seven, is optimistic he will win his case.
He claimed: ‘My five grandchildren reside with me in Jhelum at my family home. The children have not inquired about their parents and are happy living with us.
‘The legal proceedings concerning the custody of the children are ongoing in the Lahore High Court. They are enrolled in a reputable school, and we ensure their safety by personally transporting them to and from school.
‘I am their guardian and this is the safest place for them to live in, they have an association with me and they are not willing to leave me. We will win the case.’
CCTV footage had shown Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik checking in to a flight at Heathrow following Sara’s awful death.
The hunt that ensued saw them go on the run for a month but eventually return to the UK, leaving the children behind.
The family were going through passport control at Heathrow Airport just hours before police found the 10-year-old’s body, and a court was shown the footage
Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, wept as she was found guilty of murdering the girl
Sara suffered broken bones from being hit with a cricket bat, pictured above in evidence
Sara Sharif had suffered more than 25 broken bones from being hit repeatedly
Sara Sharif died aged ten at the family home in Woking, Surrey, on August 8 last year
Reciprocal rules highlight that the British and Pakistani governments must return anyone who has been ‘wrongfully retained’ in either country.
Grandfather Muhammad had previously been fighting for custody of the children from the Pakistan authorities who he claimed were not looking after them properly.
Speaking to MailOnline ahead of a custody hearing in Jhelum, he said: ‘The children belong to our family, and we should be looking after them.
‘I have been to visit them at the home where they are staying, and the conditions are not good while their health is deteriorating. They are being fed stale bread and are not being treated properly. It’s not right that they are not with us.
‘We can give them the love and the support that they need at this difficult time. The children are crying all the time and say that they want me to take them home.’
Muhammad Sharif told the court in October that two of the female children have special needs, while another suffers from severe asthma and the youngest was still being bottle fed.
Being wards of the state in Britain means day-to-day care and control of the children’s is handed to the council, but any significant development in their life would require court approval.
Muhammad Sharif claimed he had been speaking to his son – the convicted Urfan Sharif – every day before Sara was murdered and that they had been planning to visit his Jhelum home where he lives with family members.
The rooms inside the family house on Hammond Road in Woking, Surrey, where the body of 10-year-old Sara Sharif was found
Sara was beaten to death by her abusive father
Sara Sharif pictured at school before she was murdered by her father and stepmother
Sara Sharif pictured as a toddler
The High Court in Lahore adjourned the latest hearing in a custody case until mid-January on the day Sharif, Batool and Malik were convicted with the children remaining in the care of their grandfather.
Muhammad Sharif said when the convicted landed in Pakistan they had come straight to his home.
He added: ‘When Urfan unexpectedly arrived at our family home in Jhelum to inform me that Sara is no more, I could hardly believe it.
‘I had anticipated her arrival with them, got shocking news about her. I was broken with grief, crying out and shouting; it was a heart-wrenching experience for me … When police began their search, they left early the next morning to evade arrest.’
Following Sara’s death Urfan Sharif told police he had ‘legally punished’ her after she was naughty and admitted he had beaten her up ‘too much’.
Her body was found on August 10 2023.
As part of the ensuing hunt, police in Pakistan conducted raids on 20 locations and among these was Muhammad Sharif’s house.
Urfan Sharif’s two brothers and brother-in-law were detained at a secret location in a bid to press the fugitives to hand themselves over.
Sara Sharif pictured during her reception year at school
Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 41, left the UK for Pakistan on August 9 accompanied by the five children. He has been charged with her murder after the ten-year-old’s body was discovered a day later at the family home in Woking
Beinash Batool (left), the stepmother of Sara Sharif, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik (right), 28 have also been charged with her murder
According to BBC News, Rasikh Munir, another relative, helped shelter the family who ended up hiding in nearby cornfields. Munir said he would drive them between his house and Jhelum, taking them for haircuts and even ice cream.
The children were found at Muhammad’s house on September 11, and two days later Urfan, Batool and Malik flew back to the UK where they were detained at Gatwick airport.
Sara Sharif’s two-year abuse ordeal had been missed by social services, despite teachers raising concerns over bruises on the ten-year-old on at least three occasions.
An independent child safeguarding review has begun into her death which has also seen Surrey county council heavily criticised and newly released court documents suggesting there had been 15 missed chances to save Sara.
Hamish Falconer, Foreign Office minister, said of the children: ‘They should be returned or the Pakistani government must check on their welfare and vouch for their safety, at the moment we have not had either, and that is unacceptable, and why the Foreign Office needs to continue to raise this with the Pakistani government. Having the grandfather saying the children are with me isn’t good enough.’
Will Forster, Lib Dem MP for Woking added: ‘Surrey county council wants the children back and they will house them all together. They would house them, they would look after them and keep them together. They have made that commitment to me.’
A council spokesman said: ‘We are continuing to work our way through this highly complex situation, sensitively and carefully, working closely with all of the agencies concerned. Our overriding priority remains the wellbeing of the children and we request that their privacy is respected.’
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
