Govt to challenge SC ruling in Daniel Pearl murder case

Federal govt is in contact with Sindh govt over apex court order in the case, statement issued by AGP office says

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government on Thursday decided to file a review petition against the acquittal of accused persons involved in American journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder after the Supreme Court (SC) rejected the Sindh government's appeal against the Sindh High Court (SHC) judgment.

A three-judge bench of the apex court led by Justice Mushir Alam announced the short order earlier today. One member of the apex- bench accepted the Sindh government's appeal.

“The court has come out to say that there is no offence that he has committed in this case,” Mahmood Sheikh, counsel who represented Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, told AFP.

Hours after the development, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) office issued a statement wherein it is stated that the federal government is in contact and fully engaged with the government of Sindh in respect of the apex court order in Daniel Pearl murder case.

Read More: Pearl case does not fall in terrorism category, SC told

A spokesperson for AGP said that the federal government is extending full support to the provincial government in this matter and all legal steps are being taken in this regard.

An SHC division bench on April 2, 2020, commuted the death sentence of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to seven years and acquitted three others who were serving life terms.

The PPP-led provincial government had swiftly challenged the April 2 order in the Supreme Court. The Sindh government had also immediately detained the four men under Section 3 (1) of West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1960.

The same SHC division bench, however, annulled the detention order on December 24 and ordered the Sindh government to immediately release the four men. This order elicited immediate response from the US which on December 25 expressed its “deep concerns” over the SHC order.

The provincial government had, however, not released the accused as it contended that the Supreme Court’s September 28 order with regard to Daniel Pearl case accused was still in the field.

Pearl’s murder

Daniel Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002. Pearl’s wife Marianne Pearl, a US national who was living in Karachi, wrote a letter to the Artillery Maidan police on February 2, 2002, stating that her husband disappeared on January 23, 2002.

Later, a graphic video showing Pearl’s decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in Karachi nearly a month after he was kidnapped. After this, a case was filed against the suspects and 23 witnesses were produced in the case by the prosecution. Sheikh was arrested in February 2002.