Sara Sharif’s stepmother says family has ‘gone into hiding’ in first statement since death of 10-year-old

The Independent

The stepmother of Sara Sharif has spoken for the first time since the 10-year-old girl was found dead at her home in Surrey on 10 August.  In a video, Beinash Batool reads a statement as she sits next to Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif.  “All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety,” she says, adding the family is “willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court”.  Police want to speak to Mr Sharif and Ms Batool, who are believed to have travelled from the UK to Pakistan the day before the girl’s body was found.  Mr Sharif is reported to have booked “one-way” plane tickets.

Transcript

00:00 Firstly, I would like to talk about Sara.

00:02 Sara's death was an incident.

00:05 Our family in Pakistan are severely affected

00:07 by all that is going on.

00:09 All the media have been giving wrong statements

00:13 and making up lies.

00:14 Imran did not give a statement

00:16 that Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck.

00:19 This was spread through a Pakistani media outlet.

00:22 I am very worried about Imran's safety.

00:25 All of our family members have gone into hiding

00:27 as everyone is scared for their safety.

00:29 The kids are unable to attend school

00:32 as they are afraid to leave the house.

00:34 No one is leaving the house.

00:36 The groceries have run out

00:37 and there is no food for the kids

00:38 as the adults are unable to leave their homes

00:41 out of fear of safety.

00:43 That is why we have gone into hiding.

00:45 Lastly, we are willing to cooperate

00:48 with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.

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