Sara Sharif’s grandfather urges son to hand himself in – as police say they are ‘blind’ in search

The grandfather of Sara Sharif has urged his son to hand himself over to police as part of the investigation into the 10-year-old’s death.

Pakistani police are seeking to arrest Urfan Sharif, who travelled from the UK to Islamabad the day before Sara was found dead on 10 August.

Urfan Sharif along with his partner Beinash Batool and brother Faisal Shahzad Malik are wanted for questioning.

Police chiefs in Pakistan told Sky correspondent Sabah Choudhry they are “blind” in their search for Sara’s father, uncle and stepmother, and reports of officers’ being close to finding them are “fake news”.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Sara’s grandfather Muhammad Sharif, 68, said they should hand themselves over to police.

Mr Sharif told the paper his son briefly visited the family home in Jhelum, Punjab province, earlier in the month, before disappearing again.

He added that his son did not tell him about Sara’s death.

“We want them to present themselves,” Mr Sharif said.

“We want them to resolve the matter as the privacy of our house is affected due to frequent police raids.”

Police in Surrey are continuing to appeal for information as they try to piece together what Sara’s life may have been like in the run up to her death.

Sara’s exact cause of death remains unknown but a post-mortem examination revealed she “suffered multiple and extensive injuries”, which Surrey Police said were “likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time”.

Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, is being supported by specialist officers.

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Sara’s uncle has been questioned by police

Last week, Jhelum police told Sky News Sara’s uncle, Imran Sharif, had been in custody, but not under arrest.

Imran Sharif denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, officers added.

He is said to have told police: “I found out what happened to Sara through the international media.

“My parents told me Urfan briefly came home very upset. He kept saying ‘they’ are going to take his children away from him.”

“They”, an officer said, referred to British authorities.

According to Jhelum police, Imran Sharif claims the family line is that Sara fell at home.

He is alleged to have told officers: “Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.”

Lawyers believe it is unlikely an extradition request from the UK would be denied by Pakistan.