LONDON: The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her UK home pleaded not guilty on Thursday to murder charges.
Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in southern England on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool, 29; and his brother, 28-year-old Faisal Malik, are charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The three suspects, who are remanded in a prison, appeared by video link on Thursday at London’s Central Criminal Court to deny the charges ahead of a trial scheduled for September 2024.
The trio had left the UK for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, a day before police discovered the girl’s body in Woking, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of London.
Police in Pakistan found the three defendants after an extensive search and put them on a flight to the UK on Sept. 13. They were arrested upon arriving at London’s Gatwick Airport.
Prosecutors have said that the 10-year-old girl was found with extensive injuries and healed fractures that indicated “multiple events of violence.”
They also said that police found the body after receiving a call from Pakistan.
Pakistani father, stepmother of 10-year-old found dead in UK deny murder charges
https://arab.news/2588y
Pakistani father, stepmother of 10-year-old found dead in UK deny murder charges
- Sara Sharif, 10, was found dead at her home in southern England on Aug. 10
- Sara’s father, his partner and his brother are charged with murdering her
Pakistan says Sri Lanka to ease visa restrictions after Colombo talks
- Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meets Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo
- Naqvi informs Sri Lankan president about visa-related difficulties being faced by Pakistani nationals
KARACHI: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has assured Islamabad that the island nation will ease visa restrictions for Pakistani citizens, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), met Dissanayake during a visit to the country on Tuesday. The Pakistani minister arrived in Sri Lanka last week to watch the T20 World Cup cricket clash between India and Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.
Naqvi informed the Sri Lankan president about visa-related difficulties being faced by Pakistani nationals during the meeting, the interior ministry said in a statement.
“The Sri Lankan president took immediate notice and directed that Pakistan be removed from all such lists without delay,” it said.
Both sides held detailed discussions on counterterrorism, counternarcotics and joint training between their security forces, the statement added.
Naqvi thanked Dissanayake for the arrangements the government had taken to accommodate Pakistan’s matches in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan president reaffirmed his commitment to strengthen ties with Pakistan further.
Dissanayake also conveyed a message of thanks for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for allowing the national men’s cricket team to play its cricket match against India.
Pakistan’s government earlier this month announced it would not allow the cricket team to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. The International Cricket Council (ICC) last month replaced Bangladesh with Scotland after the former said it would not play its matches in India owing to security concerns. The move drew sharp protests from the cricket boards of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Pakistan withdrew its decision and cleared the national team to play against India following negotiations with the ICC. Dissanayake had also spoken to Sharif and requested Pakistan to call off its boycott against India.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka share long-standing ties with cooperation across various sectors. In December last year, Pakistan provided assistance to Sri Lanka in the form of relief aid and rescue workers following disastrous floods across the tropical island nation.
