Sara Sharif’s mother urges fugitive father to ‘come forward and explain himself’
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif has urged the 10-year-old’s father to ‘come forward and explain himself’ following reports he is being hunted by police in Pakistan in connection with her death.
Sara Sharif was found dead at her home in Woking, on the southern outskirts of London, on Aug. 10, Surrey police said in a statement.
Investigators were called to an address in Hammond Road, Woking, at around 2.50am on August 10 following a 999 call.
The call was made from Pakistan by a man identifying himself as Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, leading officers to search the property and find the girl dead inside.
An autopsy didn’t establish a cause of death but did show that Sara had suffered ‘multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time,’ the police statement said.
No arrests have been made at this time, but an international manhunt is underway as detectives in Pakistan seek to question Mr Sharif about his daughter’s death, along with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28 who are believed to have travelled with him to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Sara’s Polish-born mother Olga Sharif has spoken out to praise the police investigation and issue an appeal to her ex-husband.
Speaking to MailOnline, Olga said: ‘The police are doing a good job finding him.’
When asked whether she had a message for Mr Sharif, Olga, 36, added: ‘To come forward and explain himself.’
Sara, and her brother Noman, 13, lived with their 41-year-old father, while Olga retained visitation rights.
Olga previously said she noticed her daughter’s behaviour start to change as her father began to exert more influence on her life, and said: ‘She was so beautiful. I can’t believe she’s dead.’
Ms Sharif said she married Urfan in November 2009, but their marriage ended in 2017.
She now lives in Somerset and hopes to bury Sara in her native Poland.
Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police major crime team, said officers have been working with the Crown Prosecution Service, Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the Foreign Office to carry out their investigation and to liaise with Pakistani authorities.
Mr Chapman added: ‘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.’
Officers are not looking to identify anyone else in connection with the investigation, Mr Chapman said.
A spokesman for Chotala Police Station in Jhelum, which is co-ordinating the manhunt confirmed: ‘We have been asked by the senior officers to arrest Urfan Sharif who recently came from England. The FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) has sent a draft to district police officer to arrest him immediately.
‘We are on it and hopefully he would be behind the bars soon,’ the Mail reports.
Another official added: ‘We are actively looking for Sharif and are confident that we will find him. We believe he is in the Jhelum or Mirpur area and have raided a number of properties. It is only a matter of time before we find him.’
Urfan’s brother Imran Sharif told the publication that he arrived at the family home in the Jhelum last week, which had since been raided twice by police.
He said: ‘After reaching Pakistan he came to us and instantly disappeared. He did not bring his family to our home. Some people say he is hiding somewhere in Jhelum in a rented house, but others said he may be gone to Mirpur where his in laws are living.’
Mr Sharif moved into the three-bedroom council house in the quiet village of Horsell, near Woking, in April with his wife Beenish and children.
Locals say the family kept to themselves and made few connections in the nearby area.
Residents spoke of their shock and fear the day after the 10-year-old’s body was discovered.
Many of the flowers left on the pavement outside the house had heartfelt messages written by local families attached, while one person left a stuffed unicorn.
One note read: ‘Sweet girl, I’m so sorry that your sparkle was put out too soon.’
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