US expresses alarm at order to remove suspect in Pearl murder from death cell

WASHINGTON: The United States has expressed alarm about the Tuesday's directive of Supreme Court to shift Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, principal suspect in the 2002 kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, from the death cell in Karachi Central Prison to a state rest house, paving the way for his release.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Tuesday (late Tuesday night in Pakistan), a spokesperson for the Department of State said: "The United States remains deeply concerned by developments in the cases of those involved in Pearl’s kidnapping and murder."

"We are alarmed by the recent order to move Sheikh and his co-conspirators from prison."

The spokesperson recalled that on January 29, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi discussed “how to ensure accountability for convicted terrorist Omar Sheikh and others responsible for the kidnapping and murder of US citizen and journalist Daniel Pearl.”

He claimed the court’s decisions “represent an affront to terrorism victims everywhere, including in Pakistan,” but also appreciated the government's efforts to ensure that those involved in the slaying were held accountable for their actions.

“The US recognises past Pakistani actions to hold Sheikh accountable and to seek to ensure that he and his co-conspirators remain in custody,” the official said.

“We also acknowledge government requests for a review of the split January 28 decision.”

Last week, a three-judge panel quashed 18-year-old murder convictions against the four suspects, including British-born Sheikh. However, kidnapping convictions were left in place, but the men were ordered freed as they had already served out sentences for the kidnapping charges.

The Tuesday’s decision was announced on separate appeals from the Sindh government and the Pearl family, requesting the court to review its decision.

The court also directed to ensure complete security of the rest house and allowed Sheikh’s family access to him between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm [GMT+5].

The suspect, however, will not be given access to mobile and internet services while his family will be given accommodation and transport on the government’s expense, in line with the court’s directives.

Pearl, 38, was abducted on January 23, 2002, in Karachi and beheaded the next month, reportedly by Al-Qaeda.

Prior to his kidnapping, the journalist had been investigating the link between reportedly Pakistan-based militants and Richard Reid, the notorious “Shoe Bomber” who attempted to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In July 2002, following the hearings, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Hyderabad had sentenced to death Sheikh and life term to other co-accused. Sheikh was convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in Karachi in which he was kidnapped.

However, all four convicts had moved SHC in 2002 challenging their convictions.

In his autobiography, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, former president Pervaiz Musharraf had claimed that Sheikh, a student at the London School of Economics (reports suggest he did not graduate), was hired by MI6 to engage in “jihadi operations”, adding that “at some point, he probably became a rogue or a double agent”.