Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court dismissed appeals Thursday against the acquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. It ordered his release in the sensational case. Daniel Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for ‘The Wall Street Journal’, was abducted and beheaded. It happened while Pearl was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002. The story was on the links between Pakistan’s spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.
Sheikh and his three aides were convicted and sentenced in the abduction and murder case of Pearl in Karachi in 2002. Pearl’s murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was released by India in 1999. They were given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814. Sheikh was serving a prison term in India for kidnappings of Western tourists.
A three-judge bench of the apex court led by Justice Mushir Alam dismissed the Sindh government’s appeal against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) decision to overturn the conviction of Sheikh. The beheading of the American journalist in 2002 had grabbed international headlines.
According to the short verdict, the bench also directed to release the suspect. One member of the bench opposed the decision.
The bench upheld the SHC order by rejecting the appeals. It ordered Sheikh should be set free immediately, his lawyer Mahmood Sheikh told the media.
Also read: United States demands justice from Pakistan for journalist Daniel Pearl’s brutal murder
In April 2020, a two-judge Sindh High Court bench commuted the death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven years imprisonment. The court also acquitted his three aides – Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib. They were also serving life terms in the case, almost two decades after they were found guilty and jailed.
The Sindh government and family of Pearl filed petitions in the apex court, challenging the high court verdict. The Sindh government invoked the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1960 to keep the four men under detention.
Their continuous detention was challenged in the Sindh High Court. The SHC directed December 24 security agencies not to keep Sheikh and other accused under ‘any sort of detention’. It declared all notifications of the Sindh government related to their detention ‘null and void’.
This order elicited an immediate response from the US which December 25 expressed its ‘deep concerns’ over the SHC order. The US State Department said that it will continue to monitor any developments in the case. It said it will continue to support the Pearl family ‘through this extremely difficult process’ while honouring the legacy of Pearl as a ‘courageous journalist’.
The US has been mounting pressure on Pakistan, demanding justice for Pearl. Last month, the US said it is ready to take custody of Sheikh, asserting that Washington will not allow him to evade justice. We cannot allow him to evade justice for his role in Daniel Pearl’s abduction and murder,” acting US Attorney General Jeffrey A Rosen said.