Daniel Pearl Murder
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken urges Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to “ensure accountability” in Daniel Pearl murder case
Washington: Newly appointed US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and urged him to “ensure accountability” in journalist Daniel Pearl murder case.
"Spoke with @SMQureshiPTI on ensuring accountability for convicted terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and others responsible for Daniel Pearl’s murder. The Foreign Minister and I underscored the importance of continued U.S.-Pakistan cooperation in supporting regional stability," Blinken tweeted.
Spoke with @SMQureshiPTI on ensuring accountability for convicted terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and others responsible for Daniel Pearl’s murder. The Foreign Minister and I underscored the importance of continued U.S.-Pakistan cooperation in supporting regional stability.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 29, 2021
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Islamist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the principal accused in the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
The country's apex court dismissed an appeal by the Sindh government against the Sindh High Court (SHC) order for his immediate release.
The Sindh High Court had ordered the immediate release of Sheikh declaring his connection with the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl null and void.
The order to free Sheikh on Thursday was issued by a three-judge SC bench of Pakistan headed by Justice Mushir Alam. One member of the bench opposed the decision.
The decision left Daniel Pearl's family shocked, media reports quoting their lawyer said.
"Today's decision is a complete travesty of justice and the release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan," the Pearl family said in a statement released by their lawyer to media.
Sheikh was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl.
Sheikh has served 18 years in jail and a life sentence is usually a maximum of 14 years.
Sheikh was convicted on charges of luring Pearl to a meeting in Karachi from where he was kidnapped and subsequently murdered.
In 2002, Pearl, who was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and murdered while he was in Pakistan.
Image courtesy: Daniel Pearl Image from Wikimedia Commons and Pakistan flag from Pixabay
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