LONDON: The father, stepmother and uncle of 10 year old Sara Sharif were charged on Friday for allowing or causing her death, Surrey Police said in a statement.

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik were produced at a magistrates court in Guildford on Friday. The trio left Pakistan on Wednesday morning after reports of negotiations with British officials and were arrested at Gatwick airport on arrival.

Sara was found with extensive injuries at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, on Aug 10. Her father, his partner Beinash, and her uncle Faisal had all travelled to Pakistan a day earlier.

A post-mortem examination was unable to establish the cause of death but revealed Sara had sustained “multiple and extensive” injuries likely to have been inflicted over a “sustained and extended” period of time.

Urfan Sharif wore a grey, prison-issued tracksuit and was flanked by police officers. The trio did not enter formal pleas, but it was reported they will deny charges. They spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses. Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram then remanded the defendants in custody.

Their next court appearance will be at London’s Old Bailey on Tuesday.

In a video statement earlier, Ms Batool referred to the girl’s death as an “incident” without giving details. The family line, according to relatives, is that the minor’s death was an accident. But a postmortem revealed Sara had extensive injuries sustained over a period of time, though it did not find a conclusive cause of death.

Police, who said they were still appealing for information about Sharif’s life, said the girl’s mother had been informed of the developments and was being supported by specialist officers.

The girl’s Polish mother, Olga Sharif, has said she could barely recognise her daughter’s small, battered body when she identified her at the mortuary last month.

She told Polish television one of her cheeks was swollen and the other side of her face was bruised.

Olga and Urfan separated in 2015, and Sara and her older brother had lived with their mother until a family court determined in 2019 that they should reside with their father, according to UK media.

The death of Sara Sharif had triggered a Punjab-wide manhunt for the three suspects who fled the UK with five children, a day after her body was discovered.

Urfan, Batool and Malik went into hiding for several weeks, and police officials were tipped off last Wednesday that they were headed to the UK. The five other children of Urfan Sharif have been handed over to the Child Protection Bureau after relatives reportedly refused their custody.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2023