Pakistani police raid multiple homes in search for Sara Sharif’s family

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police  have conducted a series of raids on at least 20 homes in different cities as part of their efforts to locate the family of Sara Sharif, who was found dead at her home in Woking last month.

These targeted raids, according to Sky News, were carried out in Jhelum and Mirpur.

The 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s father, Irfan Sharif, and her stepmother, Benish Batool, are suspected to have traveled to Pakistan one day before Sara’s tragic discovery at her home in Woking last month.

The UK police are seeking to question both Sharif and Batool and Faisal Shahzad Malik, who are believed to have fled to Pakistan with five children.

In a recent video shared with Sky News, Batool broke her silence and expressed her family’s willingness to cooperate with British authorities and engage in a legal process.

She vehemently denied media reports that Sharif’s brother, Imran, had stated Sara’s death resulted from a fall down the stairs and that the family had gone into hiding.

“Firstly, I would like to talk about Sara. Sara’s death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on,” Batool stated. She voiced her concerns for the family’s safety and contested their portrayal in the media. “All the media have been giving wrong statements and making up lies,” she said.

Fugitive father of ‘murdered’ Sara Sharif will be caught today, claims Pakistani police

Batool also said that the family was currently facing food shortages and was unable to venture outside.

Surrey police have acknowledged the significance of the video, emphasising their commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into Sara’s death and prioritising the welfare of the five children involved.

Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, who separated from Sharif in 2015, shared her anguish at the sight of her daughter’s body in a mortuary during an interview with the Polish television programme “Uwaga”.

She described Sara’s injuries, lamenting the trauma she endured, and expressed her deep sorrow.

Olga Sharif said that she was haunted by the sight of her daughter’s body in a mortuary.

She said: “One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised. Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.”

“They dressed her in Mickey Mouse pyjamas and she had a quilt over her. No mother should have to see something like that.”

Sara and her older brother had been living with their mother from 2015 until 2019, when the family court ruled they should live with their father.

Olga Sharif, who still had equal rights to see the children, said while that while it was easy to maintain initially, it became increasingly harder over time.