Police have recovered the five children of Urfan Sharif, who fled to Pakistan after his 10-year-old daughter Sara was found dead in the UK, in his father’s during a raid on Monday.
The five children, aged between one and 13, were found at the home of Muhammad Sharif, Urfan’s father and Sara’s grandfather, in the northern city of Jhelum.
The news comes a month after Urfan, 41, fled the UK to Pakistan with his wife and brother, along with his five children, before calling 999 from the city of Islamabad to report that his daughter was dead in his home in Horsell, near Woking.
Nasir Mehmood Bajwa, a district police officer, told the Guardian: ‘Police with a heavy contingent on Monday evening raided Sharif’s residence in Jhelum and recovered five children. They are healthy and in good condition.’
Police reportedly broke the locks of the house’s main gate before storming in and confiscating CCTV cameras as part of a major raid of over 20 properties in search for the family.
Sara Sharif (pictured) was found dead and alone in her family’s home near Woking, Surrey, on August 10
The five children were found at the house of Muhammad Urfan (pictured)
Pakistani cops are still looking for Urfan, his wife, Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28.
Muhammad Sharif previously denied knowing where the rest of Sara’s siblings were, but admitted to the BBC that he had been hiding his grandchildren in Jhelum.
He did not say how long they had been with him for.
Earlier this week, Muhammad begged his son to ‘cooperate with the police and face the law.’
‘Sharing the truth is their fundamental right, it is not possible to hide things. The more details they share, the better for them.’
Muhammad said this past weekend that the family is negotiating with local politicians to hand themselves into official custody.
Sara was just 10 when she was found dead and alone in her family’s home on August 10.
Post-mortem examinations revealed the young girl had suffered ‘multiple and extensive injuries.’
An inquest held last month said that the cause of Sara’s death was ‘not yet ascertained’ but was likely to be ‘unnatural.’
Sara’s mum, Olga Sharif, revealed that her injuries were so bad that she barely recognised her in the mortuary.
‘One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised,’ she told Polish TV channel TVN.
‘Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.’
Olga said she hopes to bury her child in her native Poland.
Urfan and Beinash were last seen in a video published last week, in which she said her stepdaughter’s death ‘was an incident.’
An inquest held in August did not determine an exact cause of death, but said that it was likely ‘unnatural’
Sara’s body was found in her family’s home in Horsell, near Woking
Her family had fled the country by the time her body was found
‘Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on. My main concern is that Pakistani police will torture or kill us, that is why we have gone into hiding,’ she added.
‘All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety. The kids are unable to attend school as they are afraid to leave the house. No one is leaving the house.
‘The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear of safety. That is why we have gone into hiding.’
Beinash denied in the video that the schoolgirl fell down the stairs and broke her neck, claiming that this statement was spread by a Pakistani media outlet.
She added that the family were willing to cooperate with UK authorities and were prepared to ‘fight our case in court.’
Surrey Police said shortly after the family’s video was published that it was working with Interpol, the UK’s Foreign Office and the National Crime Agency to figure out its next steps.
MailOnline previously reported that cops had arrested one of Sara’s uncles, Imran, as they were ‘convinced’ he knew where the family was hiding.
A source said: ‘We spoke to Imran and some of the family members last week and they insisted that they did not know where Urfan and his family are.
‘But we don’t believe them, there’s absolutely no way that they can’t know where eight of their relatives who have come from England are. They are telling us a pack of lies.’
‘They clearly have something to hide. We have got hold of one of them and will be interrogating him until he tells us the truth.’
More to follow.