US Deeply Concerned As Pakistan Court Orders Release Of Terrorists Who Killed Daniel Pearl

The United States on Thursday expressed deep concerns over a Pakistan court ordering the release of multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered the release of British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides — Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil– who were earlier convicted and sentenced in the case. They are to walk out of the prison on Saturday as their release orders were received very late. 

“We are deeply concerned by the reports of the December 24 ruling of Sindh High Court to release multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl. We have been assured that the accused have not been released at this time,” the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the US State Department tweeted. The US has been mounting pressure on Pakistan for years, demanding justice for Pearl, but to little avail.We understand that this case is ongoing and will be following closely.

We continue to stand with the Pearl family through this extremely difficult process. We continue to honour Daniel Pearl’s legacy as a courageous journalist,” it added.

A three-judge apex court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam is hearing the appeal by the Sindh government and the family of the slain journalist against the acquittal of Sheikh. 

Pearl, the then 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country’s powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.

Pearl’s murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was released by India in 1999 and given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814.