Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard appeal of the Sindh government seeking suspension of the Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict of acquitting four convicts in Daniel Pearl murder case.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mushir Alam, heard the appeals filed by the Sindh government and the parents of victim Daniel Pearl challenging the April 02 high court verdict that overturned the sentences of four convicts in the murder case.

Farooq H Naik representing the Sindh government said that four accused including Ahmed Omer Saeed were arrested, while seven others were at large. The accused had hatched kidnapping plot of Daniel Pearl, a US national reporting for the Wall Street Journal, in a Rawalpindi hotel, Naik said. “They sent an email to the victim’s wife after kidnapping and demanded ransom money,” the counsel further said.

The accused brutally slain Daniel Pearl after their demand was not met, Sindh’s counsel said. They also released the video of the slaughter causing fear and harassment among public. “I will produce details of the witness accounts in the next hearing,” the counsel told the bench.

“You should also point out the error in the high court decision,” Justice Yahya Afridi, a member of the bench said.

The court adjourned further hearing of the case till tomorrow (Wednesday).

Four convicts in the murder case, British national Ahmed Omer Saeed, co-accused Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil had moved the SHC in 2002 challenging their convictions handed down by the Hyderabad Anti-Terrorism Court after finding them guilty of abducting and killing American Journalist Pearl.

The 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, was researching a story on religious extremists, in January 2002 in Karachi when he was abducted and slain.