ISLAMABAD: The Sindh High Court on Thursday declared “null and void” the continued detention of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-born Pakistani man convicted over the 2002 beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
The court was hearing an appeal from the family of Sheikh against his detention despite a court acquitting him in April.
Sheikh was sentenced to death and three others to life in prison for their role in the plot in 2002. A lower Pakistani court acquitted Sheikh and three others this year, in a move that has stunned the US government, Pearl’s family and journalism advocacy groups.
The acquittal is now being appealed separately by the Pakistan government and Pearl’s family in the Supreme Court. The government has opposed Sheikh’s release from prison, saying it would endanger the public. He was to remain in custody until the appeals are resolved.
On Thursday, the Sindh court ordered the immediate release of Sheikh and three others, but said their names should be added to a no-fly list.
The men have been in rotting in jail for 18 years without committing any crime, the judge said.
Sheikh had been convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi in which he was kidnapped. Pearl had been investigating the link between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, dubbed the “Shoe Bomber” after trying to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.
Pearl, 38, of Encino, California, was abducted January 23, 2002. In Sheikh’s original trial, emails between Sheikh and Pearl presented in court showed Sheikh gained Pearl’s confidence by sharing their experiences as both waited for the birth of their first child. Pearl’s wife Marianne Pearl gave birth to a son, Adam, in May 2002.
Pakistan court orders immediate release of four accused in Daniel Pearl killing
https://arab.news/9587b
Pakistan court orders immediate release of four accused in Daniel Pearl killing
- Sheikh was sentenced to death and three others to life in prison in 2002 but a lower court acquitted them in April
- Acquittal was appealed by government and Pearl’s family, government opposed Sheikh’s release saying it would endanger the public
Pakistan, Afghanistan border clashes kill 5, officials say
- Afghanistan and Pakistan trade blame for “unprovoked firing” along Chaman-Spin Boldak border
- Exchange takes place nearly a week after a fresh round of peace talks between neighbors failed
KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, killing at least five people amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks last weekend.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.
His deputy Hamdullah Fitra told Reuters that shelling by Pakistan killed five people, including a Taliban member.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister said Afghan forces carried out “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border.
“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.
The exchange came nearly a week after a new round of peace talks between the South Asian neighbors ended without a breakthrough, although both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire.
The talks in Saudi Arabia last weekend were the latest in a series of meetings hosted by Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia to cool tensions following deadly border clashes in October.
At the heart of the dispute, Islamabad says Afghan-based militants have carried out recent attacks in Pakistan, including suicide bombings involving Afghan nationals. Kabul denied the charge, saying it could not be held responsible for security inside Pakistan.
Dozens were killed in October’s clashes, the worst violence on the border since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021.
