LONDON: Police in Pakistan have arrested a man as part of the hunt for relatives of slain UK schoolgirl Sara Sharif.
Urfan Sharif, 41, Sara’s father, along with his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and brother Faisal Malik, 28, are wanted in connection with the death of the girl, who was found Aug. 10, the day after the trio fled the UK.
The three adults, along with five of Sharif’s children, are thought to be hiding in Pakistan. Sharif’s parents and a number of other relatives are also missing, with the family home and shop in Jhelum, Punjab, locked up and empty.
MailOnline reported that another of Sharif’s brothers, Imran, had been detained by police, with authorities “convinced” he knows of the family’s whereabouts. He is being interrogated by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency.
“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,” a police source said. “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.
“We managed to get hold of Imran, but the rest of his family have gone missing. 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.”
Last week, Imran confirmed to MailOnline his brother had been in Pakistan on Aug. 9 and had visited the family, but that he was alone.
“After reaching Pakistan he came to us and instantly disappeared. He did not bring his family to our home. Some people say he is hiding somewhere in Jhelum in a rented house, but others said he may be gone to Mirpur where his in-laws are living,” he said.
“(The) police … raided our home twice during the last week and took pictures of Urfan and other family members. We have been warned to inform police immediately soon after receiving his whereabouts.”
A police source told MailOnline Batool’s family had not been located in Mirpur, which is two hours from Jhelum.
“We have the mobile phone numbers for Sharif and the other people with him who came from the UK. We are doing our utmost to trace them electronically but it’s not proving to be very easy,” the source added.
Sara’s body was found at her home in Woking, Surrey, after local police received a call purportedly from Sharif in Pakistan. An autopsy could not establish cause of death, but found she sustained multiple serious and “extensive” injuries over a period of time.
Her mother, Olga Sharif, 36, called on her ex-husband to “come forward and explain himself.”
