Sara Sharif’s father ‘asked friend for eight one-way flight to Pakistan just HOURS before calling Surrey police from abroad telling them ten-year-old girl was dead in Woking’ – as global manhunt continues
- Sara was found dead at her home in Surrey in the early hours of August 10
The father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found dead at home in Woking after her whole family fled to Pakistan, contacted a friend who owned a money transfer shop to get eight last-minute plane tickets before they left the country.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, 41, told Nadeem Riaz on August 8 he urgently needed the one way tickets due to the death of a cousin and needed to fly out to Islamabad as soon as possible.
The next day Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, left the UK on a British Airways flight with five of the couple’s children, aged between one and 13.
Sara was left behind. She was already dead.
After arriving in Pakistan Sharif phoned 999 and informed police they would find the body of his oldest daughter at their address in Horsell. She was discovered with ‘multiple and extensive’ injuries which are believed to have occurred over a ‘sustained and extended’ period of time.
Detectives are continuing to appeal for information to help them piece together a picture of Sara’s life
Police were called by Sara’s father, 41, who phoned 999 after landing in Islamabad
Mr Riaz told the Times he had often had business with Sharif before, who would frequently end money to one of his brothers, Imran, in Pakistan.
His shop doubled as a travel agency, and he had previously secured flights for the family after the death of Sharif’s mother last November.
He said: ‘[Sharif] sounded normal. No different to his usual self.’
After the call, Mr Riaz sent a message to Sharif and asked him what kind of tickets he wanted. Sharif is said to have responded: ‘One way.’
The shop owner, who has known Sharif for 11 years, is said to be assisting police with their enquiries into Sara’s death.
He told the paper: ‘For the first few days after it happened, every time I looked at my own daughter I felt so sad for Sara.
‘I love my daughter [who is six] so much. How could anyone leave their daughter?’
The international manhunt for the family is still underway, as Pakistan police this week claimed they were not asked to look for the relatives until five days after her body was discovered.
Surrey Police made the tragic find in the early hours of August 10, but Punjab police say they did not receive a request until August 15.
Relatives of the family previously claimed Sharif briefly went home before leaving again with his partner, brother and five children – none of whom have been seen since.
The shop owner, who has known Sharif for 11 years, is said to be assisting police with their enquiries into Sara’s death
Police want to speak to Sara’a father (left), his partner Beinash Batool (right) and brother Faisal Malik
Mr Sharif’s uncle Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside her father and his partner
A post-mortem was unable to determine a precise cause of death for Sara, and further tests are ongoing.
READ MORE: Murdered ten-year-old Sara Sharif ‘was seen in school with cuts and bruises to her face months before she was found dead at family home in Woking’, neighbour claims
Police in Pakistan had previously detained two of Sharif’s brothers in order to question them about his whereabouts, before a court ruled this was illegal as they had not been arrested or charged.
Sara’s devastated mother, Olga Sharif, 36, has appealed for her ex-husband to hand himself in, as has Sara’s grandfather.
This week, a cousin of Sara’s step-mother, Batool, also asked her to hand her herself in to police.
The relative, who asked not to be named, told Sky News: ‘Beinash should come back to the UK.
‘I don’t know where she is. But I’m worried about her. I’m worried about her kids.
‘She should come back to the UK, go to the police and tell them exactly what happened.’
She added: ‘I don’t know – my family don’t know – what happened. It could have been an accident; a misunderstanding.’
Neighbours have previously told how the family’s curtains were always closed.
Sara was also reportedly seen with cuts and bruises to her face just a day before she was withdrawn from school, allegedly so Batool could home-school her.
Batool told a neighbour this was because Sara had been bullied for wearing a hijab.
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