LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on trial in London for her murder on Friday said his wife told him to confess to killing his daughter.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is accused of murdering Sara Sharif on August 8 last year, alongside her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
All three deny the charge and of causing or allowing her death.
A jury at the Old Bailey court was told that all three left the family home in Woking, southwest of London, the day after Sara died and flew to Pakistan.
Sara’s body, which had multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks, was found by police after a tip-off from Sharif in Islamabad.
Giving evidence for a fourth day, he said he was devastated by her death but agreed to leave because Batool had told him Sara had been beaten by another of his children, and he feared the consequences for them.
Before leaving, he wrote a note taking the blame. “Whoever sees this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating,” it read.
But Sharif told the jury that the confession was dictated by his wife.
“I was merely writing, the wording was not mine,” he said, insisting he took the blame to protect his other children.
Before leaving on August 9, 2023, Sharif left the house keys under the doormat, so the police would not have to break through the door, and had resolved to tell the authorities about Sara when he was out of the country.
A recording was played in court of Sharif’s garbled phone call to police in the UK after arriving in Islamabad.
“I killed my daughter, I killed my daughter,” he said.
Instructing police to the house, he said he “left in a panic” and added: “I promise I’ll come back.”
One month later, Sharif, Batool and Malik returned to the UK and were arrested.
Father accused of killing daughter tells UK jury wife told him to confess
https://arab.news/6uh2x
Father accused of killing daughter tells UK jury wife told him to confess
- Urfan Sharif is accused of murdering Sara Sharif last year, alongside her stepmother and uncle
- Police found the girl’s body with multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks at her home
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
