Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Thursday continued hearing an appeal of the Sindh government in the Daniel Pearl murder case.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mushir Alam, is hearing appeals filed by the Sindh government and parents of Daniel Pearl challenging the April 02 Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict that overturned the sentences of four convicts in the case.

Farooq H Naik representing the Sindh government continued his arguments on the third day of the hearing. Naik spelled out the statements of taxi driver Nasir Abbas, Hayat Ali and Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Jameel Yousuf before the court.

The Sindh’s counsel argued that in the light of the incidents Ahmed Omer Saeed Shaikh has been the main accused. “This is not a case in which the dead body or the weapon of the crime is expected to be recovered. It is a blind murder, we have to keep the sequence of incidents to reach to a result,” the counsel said.

“Taxi driver’s testimony is the final constitutional evidence of this case,” Naik argued. “The taxi driver had last seen Daniel Pearl with Ahmed Omer Shaikh,” Sindh government’s lawyer said in his arguments.

The court adjourned further hearing of the case till Tuesday (December 8) when Naik will resume his arguments.

Earlier on Wednesday, Naik informed the court that a man met Daniel Pearl at a hotel in Rawalpindi. The man had booked the hotel room with the name of Muzaffar Farooqi but he met with Pearl introducing himself as Bashir, the counsel said.

Another man, Arif, who is absconding, had led the US reporter for a meeting with Muzaffar Farooqi. Arif asked at the hotel reception for meeting with Muzaffar Farooqi, which proves that Arif knew that Omar Shaikh was staying in the hotel with the name of Muzaffar Farooqi, the counsel argued. “Omer Shaikh’s hiding his identity is a proof of the conspiracy”, Naik said.

“When was the identification parade held?” Justice Sardar Tariq Masood questioned. “The identification parade was held in the presence of a magistrate in the court,” the counsel replied.

“Daniel Pearl’s murder was a part of the international terrorism and Omar Shaikh himself had stated that he will be handed over to the United States,” the lawyer said.

Naik said that four accused including Ahmed Omer Saeed were arrested, while seven others were at large. The accused had hatched the 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 killed Daniel Pearl after their demand was not met, Sindh’s counsel said.