Blow to Sara Sharif murder probe as court makes new ruling after cops question family in Pakistan
COPS are not allowed to detain relatives of Sara Sharif’s dad for questioning in Pakistan, a court has ruled.
The 10-year-old suffered “sustained injuries” before cops found her body at the house in Woking at around 2.50am on August 10.
She was discovered after officers had a 999 call from her father Urfan from Pakistan.
An international search is underway for Urfan, his partner Beinash Batool and the 10-year-old’s uncle Faisal Malik.
They are wanted for questioning in the investigation.
But now Lahore high court, Rawalpindi bench, has ruled that cops will no longer be allowed to detain Ufan’s family members.
Police had already quizzed two of his brothers under the instruction of Interpol – but no arrests were made, reports The BBC.
UK authorities face an uphill battle to get Sara’s father, partner and uncle back to Britain.
This is because the UK does not have a formal extradition treaty with Pakistan, making it difficult to get the runaways back for questioning.
A post-mortem in recent days revealed that young Sara suffered “multiple and extensive injuries which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”.
It comes after it was revealed Sara was known to social services.
Surrey County Council said it could not comment further while a review by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership was being undertaken.
Cops are continuing to appeal for information about Sara’s death and they would like to speak to anyone who knew the girl or her family.
A statement from the force said: “No piece of information is insignificant, so if you can help, please contact us.
“If you would like to stay anonymous, you can report information to Crimestoppers.”