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19 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

UK, Pakistan courts in legal fight over siblings’ future in Sara Sharif case

At the moment, children remain in Pakistan
British agencies were searching for Sara’s father as they believe that he killed her daughter. Photo/File
British agencies were searching for Sara’s father as they believe that he killed her daughter. Photo/File

Courts in the United Kingdom and Pakistan were fighting over the future of the siblings of 10-year-old Sara Sharif whose death triggered an international manhunt in the South Asian country, BBC News reported.

Sara, the daughter of a Pakistani-origin father and Polish mother, was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10, the day after her father, Irfan Sharif, flew to Islamabad. But her father, stepmother, and uncle deny the murder charges.

The two cases would decide what should happen to the siblings aged between one and 13. In September, Surrey Police believed that the three suspects fled to Pakistan with the children before the minor’s body was found.

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

According to the British news outlet, they could be reported after restrictions were lifted following an application by media organisations.

A series of hearing have been held in London’s high court after the case was reported in which the siblings were made wards of court.

The court ordered that they should be returned to the UK, prompting the Surrey County Council to approach the Lahore High Court to secure the children’s return to the country.

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The court processes in the two countries were ongoing. On September 12, the court in Lahore sent the siblings to a government childcare facility.

The restriction on reporting the legal process in London was lifted after an application by the BBC, journalists Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers, and PA Media.

In October, the Lahore court gave interim custody of siblings to the grandfather, Mohammad Sharif, of the children while hearing the Surrey Country Council application.

The case related to their permanent custody is still pending.

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Sarah murder case

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