Sara Sharif's siblings to remain in Pakistan as UK council withdraws legal case
Surrey County Council has withdrawn its legal case to return Sara Sharif's five siblings to the UK, meaning they will remain in Pakistan with their paternal grandfather. The children have been living in Jhelum since October 2023 while Pakistani courts deliberated custody, but the council determined it lacked the ability to continue pursuing the application. The decision ends a two-and-a-half-year legal battle that began after Sara's murder by her father and stepmother in August 2023.
Sara Sharif's five siblings will remain in Pakistan following Surrey County Council's withdrawal from legal proceedings aimed at returning them to the UK. The children have been living with their paternal grandfather in Jhelum since October 2023, after being found there following their father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool's flight to Pakistan following 10-year-old Sara's death in August 2023. The council stated it had no ability to continue pursuing the application in Pakistani courts as English wardship proceedings come to an end. Pakistani courts have never definitively ruled on Surrey Council's jurisdiction over the children, despite the BBC attending more than a dozen hearings marked by delays, restarts, and suspensions. The grandfather's legal team notes the children retain joint UK-Pakistan nationality and can return to the UK if they choose in the future. A December 2025 court order indicated wardship proceedings would be dismissed in six months without extension, effectively ending the council's involvement.
What's missing
The current welfare and educational status of the five siblings beyond the note that most are in school; the specific ages of the other four siblings; details of any ongoing monitoring or support mechanisms for the children in Pakistan; the grandfather's stated intentions regarding the children's long-term care and upbringing.
What different sources said
- BBC Top StoriesCenter
Sara Sharif's siblings to stay in Pakistan
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