Sara Sharif's siblings to stay in Pakistan

The siblings of Sara Sharif - the 10-year-old murdered by her begetter and stepmother - volition enactment successful Pakistan aft Surrey County Council said it had nary prime but to retreat from a ineligible lawsuit to instrumentality them to the UK.

The 5 children person been surviving with their paternal gramps successful Jhelum since October 2023.

But a determination regarding who volition get last custody and which state the children should unrecorded successful has been the absorption of a bid of stop-start tribunal battles successful Pakistan implicit two-and-a-half years.

The children, who are each successful schoolhouse isolated from the youngest, were made wards of tribunal successful England and the assembly had been trying to bring them backmost done the courts successful Pakistan.

Their gramps has been warring for them to enactment with him.

A spokesperson for Surrey County Council told the BBC the assembly has nary quality to prosecute the exertion successful Pakistan, arsenic English proceedings are coming to an end.

The last determination astir who has last custody is inactive pending, but either existent enactment would mean the children stay successful Pakistan.

The grandfather's lawyer has said that arsenic the children clasp associated nationality and that they tin instrumentality to the UK if they take successful the future.

It has been astir 3 years since 10-year-old Sara Sharif's assemblage was recovered successful a location successful Woking connected 10th August 2023.

By then, her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool and her uncle, Faisal Malik had taken the 5 children and fled to Pakistan.

On 11 September 2023 the children were recovered erstwhile constabulary raided Urfan's father's location successful Jhelum.

They were initially enactment into a childcare facility, but successful October 2023 their gramps was fixed impermanent custody.

The adults returned to the UK connected 13 September 2023 and were arrested connected their accomplishment astatine Gatwick airport.

Sara's begetter and stepmother were recovered blameworthy of execution and sentenced to beingness imprisonment.

After Sara's death, her siblings were made wards of tribunal and an English tribunal ordered that they should beryllium returned to England.

Surrey County Council has been warring a lawsuit which has resulted successful agelong ineligible arguments astir whether they person immoderate jurisdiction successful Pakistan implicit the children.

The BBC has attended the tribunal successful Pakistan connected much than a twelve occasions. In that time, the lawsuit has been delayed without being heard connected aggregate occasions, heard successful part, restarted with a caller justice and doubly suspended implicit the summertime recess.

The eldest of the siblings, who is present a teenager, has attended the immense bulk of these cases.

At a caller hearing, the justice said that the questions raised were "very important". However, the Pakistan courts person ne'er fixed an reply regarding Surrey council's jurisdiction implicit the children.

The hearings astir the children successful the UK person been held successful backstage but the BBC attended galore of the hearings.

In a tribunal bid from December 2025, the justice states that wardship proceedings relating to the children would beryllium dismissed successful six months if determination was nary exertion to widen them and that the children were nary longer successful the attraction and power of Surrey council.

In a statement, Terence Herbert, the council's main executive, said it "has done everything wrong our powerfulness to enactment the siblings and fractional siblings of Sara Sharif successful Pakistan".

He added: "The children were made Wards of the High Court and an Order was sought to instrumentality the children to England.

"The High Court gave support for the assembly to marque an exertion to the High Court successful Lahore to question to unafraid the instrumentality of the children and that exertion was made.

"The English tribunal proceedings are astir to travel to an end, which means the Pakistan Proceedings successful Lahore person concluded."