The final WhatsApp messages of the father of a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her Surrey home have been revealed as an international manhunt continues.
Urfan Sharif messaged businessman Nadeem Riaz shortly before 10pm on 8 August, urgently asking for eight flight tickets to Islamabad, Pakistan.
Mr Riaz, who owns a money transfer shop and ad hoc travel agency, did not realise then that the client he has known for 11 years was leaving one child behind.
“He said he needed to book as soon as possible,” Mr Riaz, 46, told The Times. “I asked why and he said his cousin had passed away in Pakistan. He sounded normal. No different to his usual self.”
When asked what type of tickets he wanted, Mr Sharif responded with just two words: “One way.”
The body of Sara was found at a property on Hammond Road after police were called from Pakistan by her father Urfan Sharif— (PA)
Mr Sharif, 41, his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are all wanted for questioning but despite house raids of relatives in Pakistan, the trio have not been found.
Mr Riaz said Mr Sharif wanted updates on WhatsApp within minutes, asking at 10.12pm: “Any luck[?}”
Less than 24 hours later, Mr Sharif boarded a flight at Heathrow to Islamabad via Bahrain at 2pm with his five children aged between one and 13, Ms Batool and his brother Mr Malik. The flight tickets bought at the eleventh hour cost £5,180.
Urfan Sharif, left, and Beinash Batool are wanted for questioning— (PA)
After touching down in Islamabad, Mr Sharif called police to inform them that the body of his daughter Sara was at the property on Hammond Road. The 10-year-old was found with extensive injuries over a sustained period, a post-mortem examination showed.
It has been claimed that Sara, who was known to Surrey County Council, had been seen in school with injuries to her face and neck in April. Her neighbour, identified only as Jessica by the BBC, said her daughter told her Sara had gone to school with the injuries but claimed she had fallen off a bike when asked about them.
“Just before the Easter holidays she was in school and had cuts and bruises on her face and her neck,” Jessica told the BBC. “My daughter had asked what had happened and she said she’d fallen off a bike and then kind of walked away. The next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home-schooled.”
People lay flowers for Sara outside her home in Woking, Surrey— (PA)
Another neighbour told the broadcaster she never saw Sara “smile or laugh” and she seemed like a “quiet” and “reserved” child.
A cousin of Ms Batool has now urged her to hand herself in to the police. The relative, who asked not to be named, told Sky News: “Beinash should come back to the UK.
“I don’t know where she is. But I’m worried about her. I’m worried about her kids. She should come back to the UK, go to the police and tell them exactly what happened.”
She added: “I don’t know – my family don’t know – what happened. It could have been an accident, a misunderstanding.”
Muhammad Sharif said his son, Urfan, had briefly visited the family home in the city of Jhelum, Punjab province, earlier this month before he disappeared again. He said his son did not tell him about Sara’s death.
He told The Sunday Times: “We want them to present themselves. We want them to resolve the matter as the privacy of our house is affected due to frequent police raids.”
Anyone with information can call 101 quoting Operation Unison or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
