Sara Sharif's five siblings will stay with her killer's father in Pakistan after council's bid to return them to UK fails

Published: 08:41, 11 June 2026 | Updated: 08:42, 11 June 2026 The siblings of Sara Sharif will remain with their grandfather, whose son murdered the 10-year-old child with his partner, after Surrey County Council said its bid to return the children to the UK has failed. The five children, all of whom are in school apart from the youngest, have been living with their paternal grandfather in Jhelum, Pakistan, since October 2023. Their future whereabouts, and who would ultimately hold custody of them, were at the centre of a two-and-a-half year court battle in Pakistan between the UK council and the family. The children were made wards of court in England after their sister's death, and Surrey County Council have since been pushing for their return to the UK.  However the local authority can no longer continue its legal action in Pakistan. The council had been seeking jurisdiction over the children through the Pakistani courts, but proceedings in the UK are drawing to a close.  While the final decision remains pending, neither of the possible outcomes would result in the children returning to Britain, despite an English court order requiring their return. The grandfather's lawyer argued the children hold dual nationality and will be free to return to the UK in the future should they choose to do so.  Sara Sharif's body was discovered in a house in Woking, Surrey, on August 10, 2023. Ten-year-old Sara Sharif was tortured by her father in acts of brutality described by a judge as the worst crime he had ever encountered  Sara's father Urfan Sharif murdered his 10-year-old daughter and fled to Pakistan Sara's body was found in the family home in Woking, Surrey. She had been battered with a cricket bat, metal pole and a rolling pin, strangled until her neck broke, burnt and bitten The child suffered more than 100 injuries when she was tied up and a plastic bag was secured over her head with parcel tape. She was then battered with a cricket bat, metal pole and a rolling pin, strangled until her neck broke, burnt with an iron and bitten.  By the time her body was found, her father Urfan Sharif and accomplice stepmother Beinash Batool, along with her uncle Faisal Malik, had fled to Pakistan, taking the children with them.  Sharif proceeded to phone 999 to confess the killing, thinking he had got away with it.  The children were found on September 11, 2023, after police raided Urfan's father's home in Jhelum.  They were placed in a childcare facility until October 2023 and handed into their grandfather's temporary custody. Sharif and Batool were arrested by police when they landed back in the UK on September 13, 2023, at Gatwick Airport.  The couple were later found guilty of murder and both sentenced to life imprisonment, while her uncle was found guilty of allowing her death and sentenced to 16 years in prison.  The ongoing case in Pakistan was reportedly delayed on several occasions without being heard, heard in snippets, restarted with a new judge and suspended twice over the summer recess.  The eldest of the children, now a teenager, attended the majority of the hearings. The Pakistan courts have failed to answer on Surrey council's jurisdiction over the children.  Hearings in the UK concerning the children have been held in private.  The latest development comes after it emerged a bombshell report detailing abuse committed by Sharif had been hidden because of the killer's data protection rights.  A damning review in November revealed social workers had evidence of Sharif's 'extensive' domestic abuse before he started attacking the 10-year-old child. However it was 'lost within the system'. Sharif's accomplice wife Beinash Batool was arrested, alongside the father, when they landed back to the UK on September 13, 2023, at Gatwick Airport Surrey County Council is now attempting to prevent publication of the report, arguing that doing so could breach Urfan Sharif's rights. Sharif was ordered to attend a domestic violence perpetrator programme in 2016 after Sara's mother accused him of hitting her and children. He admitted to 'extensive and wide-ranging domestic abuse', but attended only eight of the 26 sessions. Experts concluded there was 'not enough evidence' that he had changed his behaviour. Despite the report making 'shocking reading', a social worker failed to complete an analysis and it was not added to Sara's safeguarding report. As a result, a judge fatally decided to hand Sara to the care of her abusive father without appreciating the risk posed by a man who had a 16-year history of attacking women and children. Within a short time, the 44-year-old began to torture his daughter in acts of brutality described by a judge as the worst crime he had ever encountered. Now Surrey County Council has refused to publish the domestic abuse report on Sharif under Freedom of Information laws, claiming that it would breach the killer's data protection rights.   Surrey County Council have been contacted for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. 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