LAHORE: Jhelum police have moved all five children of Urfan Sharif to the Child Protection Bureau in Lahore, a day after ‘recovering’ them from their grandfather’s house.

Mr Sharif is the father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif who was found dead in their family home in Woking, Surrey last month. He, along with his wife, Beinash Batool had left the UK for Pakistan along with one other adult and five children on Aug 9, a day before the girl’s body was discovered by the police.

The children’s custody was handed over to the bureau after seeking permission from a local court. They will be kept there till the arrest of their parents, who have been on the run since their return.

Rawalpindi Regional Police Officer (RPO) Syed Khurram Ali told Dawn the couple, along with the children’s uncle, were still at large and the police teams were conducting raids at possible hideouts for their arrests.

To a question, the RPO said it is impossible for the three suspects to flee Pakistan as FIA’s Immigration Wing has put staff on alert at all airports.

He added the couple’s relatives were not cooperating and some of them had moved the Lahore High Court against the police, alleging that Urfan, Beinash and Sara’s uncle were in police custody.

The petitioners also alleged that the police have illegally detained around 10 other relatives of Urfan, the RPO said, adding the court was being misled through fabricated information.

On Saturday, the police interrogated 10 to 15 of their relatives to seek information about the absconding couple’s whereabouts. However, they were allowed to leave after questioning.

The RPO hoped the couple would soon surrender to the police as they would not want their children to live away from the family for a long time. “If they did nothing wrong in London, they should feel free to hand themselves over to the police.”

The RPO also expressed displeasure over “the dubious role” of the couple’s relatives, saying they were adding to the couples’ troubles.

Urfan’s father and the children’s grandfather had been expressing ignorance over the whereabouts of the kids when the police raided his house, according to RPO Ali.

But the children were recovered from a room during a random search of his house on Monday, the RPO told Dawn, adding the area was being monitored since the family arrived in the country.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023