Review acquittal in Pearl murder cases: US Congress members urge Pakistan

Washington, Feb 03: The members of the US Congress in a statement to Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Assad Majeed has urged the Pakistani government to conduct a full review of the acquittal in the Daniel Pearl murder case.

The US had earlier said that they were ready to prosecute the accused in the US for the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered to shift British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the main accused in the sensational kidnapping and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, from the death row cell to a rest house run by the government.

A three-member bench of the court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial ordered Sheikh, 46, to be transferred to the general barracks for two days following which he should be shifted to a government rest house by Friday under tight security, where his family will be able to visit from 8 am to 5 pm, officials said.

However, he will not have access to a mobile phone or internet. The government will pay for his family's accommodation and transport.

The court said that Sheikh would be under guard and not allowed to leave the place where he would be kept.

However, the court again rejected the government's appeal to suspend the Sindh high court's verdict on the acquittal of the accused and asked it to file an appeal against the high court's decision.

Pearl, the 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.

In April 2020, a two-judge Sindh high court bench commuted the death sentence of Sheikh to seven years imprisonment. The court also acquitted his three aides who were serving life terms in the case - almost two decades after they were found guilty and jailed.

The Sindh government and the family of Pearl filed petitions in the apex court, challenging the high court verdict.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed their appeals against the acquittal of Sheikh and ordered his release, a judgement denounced by the American journalist's family as "a complete travesty of justice."

The US government has asked Pakistan government to ensure that those involved in murdering Pearl should be punished.

The Sindh government on Friday filed a review petition in the apex court against the acquittal of Sheikh and his three accomplices.