Court orders to hand over Sara Sharif's five siblings to Child Protection Bureau

A sessions court in Jhelum on Tuesday ordered to hand over all the five siblings of Sara Sharif, who was allegedly murdered in Britain, to the Child Protection Bureau.

Earlier, the siblings of 10-year-old Sarah Sharif were produced in a sessions court of Jhelum, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The police took them into custody during a search operation the other day.

They were produced before Sessions Judge Raja Ghazanfar Ali after being brought to the court under police security.

12-year-old Nauman, four-year-old Ehsan, two-year-old Azlan, and eleven-year-old twin sisters Hina Sharif and Asma Sharif were among those who were produced before the court.

The suspects wanted in the alleged murder of Sara Sharif are still in hiding.

It is to be noted here that Sara Sharif was found dead in the southern UK town of Woking on August 10, and her post-mortem test revealed she had sustained multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained period.

Surrey Police in Britain said last week the welfare of the five children was "a priority" after Sara Sharif was found dead with multiple injuries at their home in August.

They believe Urfan Sharif, aged 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, fled to Pakistan with the children aged between one and 13 before Sara's body was found, sparking an international manhunt.

The children were found at Sharif's father's house in Jhelum after police received information that the couple were hiding there.

"We have been conducting investigations and raids for some time and were finally successful in recovering the children yesterday," Mudassar Khan, spokesman for the Jhelum police, told AFP.

Pakistan police are still investigating how long the children had been in the house as the search for Sharif and Batool continues. The house where the children were found was otherwise empty.

The children were presented before a court on Tuesday to decide custody.

"We will not be questioning the children," Khan said.

"They are innocent in all this and are probably scared as it is."

The fugitive couple said last week they were prepared to cooperate with UK authorities.

"Sara's death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on," Batool said in a video shared with AFP by her relatives.

"My main concern is that Pakistani police will torture or kill us, that is why we have gone into hiding.

Surrey County Council in Britain, the local authority with responsibility for the welfare of children living in its area, said it was "monitoring developments" and "working with our partners to establish next steps".

The British High Commission in Islamabad did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

 

Reporter: Amir Kiyani

With input from AFP