A Pakistani father, his female partner, and his brother have been charged with the murder of a 10-year-old girl in a town in south-east England, following an international manhunt. The UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that charges had been authorized against Urfan Sharif, aged 41, Beinash Batool, aged 29, and Faisal Shahzad Malik, aged 28, in connection with the murder of Sara Sharif in Woking, Surrey, last month. The trio appeared in Guildford Magistrates' Court and have been remanded in custody.
"The CPS has authorized Surrey Police to charge Urfan Sharif with the murder of his 10-year-old daughter Sara. Charges of murder have also been authorized against Beinash Batool, Mr. Sharif’s partner, and his brother Faisal Shahzad Malik," the CPS statement said. "A further charge of causing or allowing the death of Sara has been authorized against all three individuals."
All three were arrested at Gatwick Airport on Wednesday evening as they disembarked from a flight from Dubai, after being traced by police in Pakistan.
Surrey Police discovered Sara Sharif's body in a residential address in Woking on August 10 following an emergency call, which was made by a man claiming to be the girl's father and was later traced to Islamabad. A post-mortem examination revealed that Sara Sharif had suffered "multiple and extensive injuries."
The police force informed the girl's mother, Olga Sharif, of Polish origin, about the latest developments, and she is receiving support from specialist officers.
Sara's five siblings, aged between one and 13 years old, also traveled to Pakistan with Sharif, Batool, and Malik. Earlier this week, they were located by police in Pakistan at Sharif's father's home and have since been relocated to a government childcare facility in the country.
The CPS emphasized that, as criminal proceedings are now active, all individuals charged have the right to a fair trial. "It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings," the CPS stated.
The investigation into the case involved international agencies, including Interpol, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), working to advance inquiries with the Pakistani authorities.
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