A court ruled on Tuesday that Sara Sharif’s siblings, who travelled to the UK with her father, should be sent to a government childcare facility, BBC News reported.

The ruling did not say the duration for keeping them in childcare. It also does not determine where the children will ultimately be sent.

Sara, 10, was found dead at her family home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 - a day after her father, uncle and stepmother partner left the UK.

Earlier, the children were carried by family members, surrounded by armed police and local media, into court for around 40 minutes.

They were moved from court to court as authorities attempted to work out what should happen to them.

Journalists were not allowed to attend the first hearing, but the British news media was told by several people who had been inside the courtroom that there was a discussion about whether this court had the jurisdiction to make a decision over temporary custody.

The children were then ushered quickly into a waiting police car and taken to another court where a ruling was made.

Sara’s grandfather Muhammad Sharif, who is Irfan Sharif’s father, made no comment as he left court.

Post-mortem tests found Sara sustained “multiple and extensive injuries”.

Five British-Pakistani children who were taken to Pakistan with a fugitive couple wanted over the death of a 10-year-old girl in Britain appeared at a custody hearing on Tuesday, police said.

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, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of Islamabad, after police received information that the couple were hiding there.

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“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.