Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sara Sharif murder: Timeline of hunt for family

Sara Sharif was found dead in bed at her family's home in Woking, southern England, in August 2023.

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik were arrested earlier this month following their return to the UK from Pakistan. (Image credit: Surrey Police)
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik were arrested earlier this month following their return to the UK from Pakistan. (Image credit: Surrey Police)

THE discovery of 10-year-old Sara Sharif's body at her home in southern England triggered an international investigation after her father, uncle and stepmother flew to Pakistan.

The trio returned to the UK in September 2023.


August 9, 2023: Sara's father Urfan Sharif, a 41-year-old taxi driver who moved to the UK from Pakistan in 2001, travels from his family's home near Woking, southern England, to Islamabad.

He flies with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, brother Faisal Malik, 28, and his five children.

August 10: Urfan Sharif calls Surrey Police at around 2:50 am UK time (0150 GMT) and officers visit the family's semi-detached home. They find Sara's body and a murder investigation is launched, sparking an international manhunt.

August 15: A post-mortem examination is unable to establish the cause of death but reveals Sara had sustained "multiple and extensive" injuries likely to have been inflicted over a "sustained and extended" period of time.

Sara's mother Olga tells The Sun newspaper that her life "will never be the same again".

August 18: Surrey Police say they would like to speak to Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik over the death.

UK police talk with authorities in Pakistan, with which the UK has no formal extradition treaty, about trying to find and question them.

August 19: Pakistani police in the eastern province of Punjab seek to arrest Sharif, whose family home is believed to be in the city of Jhelum.

August 24: A Pakistani court rules that police cannot detain relatives of Urfan Sharif after police quiz two of his brothers over his whereabouts.

Police say they had been instructed by Interpol to question the family and that they were "close to locating" the trio.

August 29: A coroner's inquest opens but is told the precise cause of Sara's death is "not yet ascertained" but is likely to be "unnatural".

September 5: Urfan Sharif's father Muhammad Sharif tells the BBC in Pakistan that he had seen his son, who maintains Sara's death was "an accident".

September 6: Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool appear in public for the first time, sending broadcasters a video in which they say they are "willing to co-operate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court".

September 11: Pakistani police raid the home of Muhammad Sharif and remove Urfan Sharif's five children.

They are sent temporarily to a government childcare facility in Pakistan.

September 13: Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik land at London's Gatwick Airport and are arrested immediately after leaving the plane, at around 7:45 pm, on suspicion of murder.

September 15: In the early hours, Surrey Police announce that state prosecutors had authorised murder charges against the trio. They were also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child.

They appear in court in the southern town of Guildford. All three are remanded in custody.

More For You

South Asian WW2 veterans

The commemoration event honoured two South Asian WW2 veterans who died this year, Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain.

X/@britishfuture

South Asian WW2 veterans honoured at London commemoration

TWO South Asian Second World War veterans were honoured at a commemoration event in London on Wednesday, September 10. The ceremony paid tribute to Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain, who both died this year.

The event, hosted by British Future and Eastern Eye with support from the Royal British Legion, also launched My Family Legacy, a project to raise awareness of South Asian contributions in the world wars and preserve family stories for future generations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Peter Mandelson

Mandelson, 71, a veteran Labour politician and key figure in the party under former leader Tony Blair, had come under scrutiny after letters and emails to Epstein were published. (Photo: Getty Images)

Peter Mandelson removed as UK ambassador to US over Epstein links

PETER MANDELSON, the UK's ambassador to the United States, has been sacked over revelations about his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the government said.

"The Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador," a foreign ministry statement said, adding that new messages showed "the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein".

Keep ReadingShow less
 University of Kent

The Office for Students welcomed the move, saying more universities may look at mergers as many face financial difficulties. (Photo credit: University of Kent)

University of Kent

Kent and Greenwich to merge into UK’s first regional university group

THE UNIVERSITIES of Kent and Greenwich will merge in 2026 to form the UK’s first regional “super-university”.

The new institution, to be called the London and South East University Group, will have one vice-chancellor and around 50,000 students, the BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
British Sikh MPs

Sardar Tarlochan Singh

British Sikh MPs asked to preserve Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s legacy

FORMER Indian lawmaker Sardar Tarlochan Singh has urged British Sikh MPs and peers to commission proper research into the scattered treasures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh so they can be catalogued and preserved in a museum for future generations.

The 92-year-old former Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian parliament) MP and former chairman of the National Commission for Minorities was speaking at an event hosted in his honour by the British Sikh Association at the House of Lords in London on Monday (8).

Keep ReadingShow less
BHAUK anniversary London

The event also included a financial report, a documentary on the organisation’s history, and an exhibition on Hindu genocide in the subcontinent.

Getty images

Bangladesh Hindu Association UK marks 25 years with London event

THE BANGLADESH Hindu Association UK marked its 25th founding anniversary with a silver jubilee programme on Saturday, August 30, at the Ravidassia Community Centre in Manor Park, East London.

Members from Birmingham, Bradford, Loughborough, Portsmouth, Hull, Sheffield, Leeds and Coventry attended the event.

Keep ReadingShow less