ISLAMABAD: Pakistan prosecutors have appealed against the acquittal of British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death 18 years ago for the kidnapping and brutal murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
The Wall Street Journal reporter's beheading sparked revulsion and international outrage in early 2002, putting pressure on Pakistan's military government just as it was remaking its image following years of backing the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
Sheikh and three accomplices had their convictions overturned by a provincial court earlier this month, spurring condemnation from the US and media watchdog groups.
Fiaz Shah, the prosecutor-general for Sindh, told AFP Thursday the appeal had been formally lodged by the provincial government. He could not say when it might be heard.
Following their acquittal, the four men were immediately re-arrested by authorities and will be held for at least three months while the appeal plays out.
Pearl, 38, was South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002 while researching a story about Islamist militants.
A graphic video showing his decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in the city nearly a month later.
Observers at the time said the killers were acting out of revenge for Pakistan's support of the US-led war on the hardline Islamic Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the Al-Qaeda terror network they harbored.
In January 2011, a report released by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University suggested the wrong men had been convicted of Pearl's murder.
An investigation led by Pearl's friend and former colleague Asra Nomani claimed the reporter was murdered by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is being held in Guantanamo Bay. A US psychologist who interviewed him said he had confessed to the killing.
Pakistani prosecutors appeal acquittal of suspects in Daniel Pearl murder
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Pakistani prosecutors appeal acquittal of suspects in Daniel Pearl murder
- The American journalist was abducted in Karachi in January 2002 while researching a story about Islamist militants
- According to a US psychologist, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks, confessed to Pearl's killing
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
