ISLAMABAD: The government, through the prosecutor general of Pakistan’s Sindh province, has petitioned the Supreme Court to review its decision to free Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, the British-born Pakistani convicted for the 2002 kidnapping and beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, Pakistan’s Geo News reported
On Thursday, all four men originally arrested and charged with Pearl’s abduction and murder were ordered free by the Pakistani Supreme Court. The court also dismissed separate appeals against Sheikh’s acquittal filed by Pearl’s family and the provincial government of Pakistan’s Sindh province.
“Being aggrieved of and dissatisfied with the judgment of the Full Bench of his honorable court … this petitioner files the Instant Criminal Review Petition for Leave to Appeal on questions of law, facts and grounds,” the petition, from the state through the Sindh prosecutor general, said, published by Geo News.
Sheikh was sentenced to death and three other suspects to life in prison in 2002 for their roles in the plot to kill Pearl. Last April, however, a lower court acquitted them in a shocking turn in the 18-year-old case.
The acquittal was appealed separately in the Supreme Court by Pearl’s family and the Sindh government. Both appeals were rejected on Thursday by a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, that also ordered Sheikh be released.
He is currently still detained and it was not immediately clear when he would be released.
Government appeals acquittal of men convicted in Daniel Pearl murder - Pakistani media
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Government appeals acquittal of men convicted in Daniel Pearl murder - Pakistani media
- Government, through prosecutor general of Sindh province, has petitioned the Supreme Court to review its decision to free ‘mastermind’ Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh
- On Thursday, all four men originally arrested and charged with Pearl’s abduction and murder were ordered free by the top court
Pakistan offers Turkmenistan its Arabian Sea ports for wider access to ‘South Asia and beyond’
- PM Sharif meets Turkmen president in Ashgabat, calls for deeper trade and energy cooperation
- Islamabad cites Karachi and Gwadar as key to boosting regional connectivity, including TAPI links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged Turkmenistan to expand trade and connectivity through Karachi and Gwadar, saying its Arabian Sea ports offer Turkmen businesses and exporters a direct route to South Asian and global markets, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said after high-level talks in Ashgabat.
Pakistan and Turkmenistan have long discussed regional transport corridors and energy cooperation, including the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline, a proposed multibillion-dollar project that would carry Turkmen natural gas south through Afghanistan into Pakistan and India. Islamabad has also pushed to link the landlocked Central Asian states to the sea by offering transit access through its deep-water ports, which sit at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Sharif met Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan, in Ashgabat as both countries look to revive momentum in bilateral engagement after years of regional instability. Pakistan has supported Turkmen neutrality policies at the United Nations, while Ashgabat has backed Pakistan during crises, including helping evacuate Pakistani nationals caught in Iran during the Iran–Israel conflict earlier this year.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to enhance connectivity with Turkmenistan through land and sea routes and said that Karachi and Gwadar ports were ideally located to be utilized by the Turkmen side to enhance their outreach to South Asia and beyond,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sharif reiterated his intention to deepen trade and economic ties with Turkmenistan, saying enhanced transport links and energy cooperation could anchor long-term regional integration. He invited President Berdimuhamedow and Turkmenistan’s national leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, on official visits to Pakistan next year.
Sharif is on a two-day visit to Turkmenistan for the International Forum on Peace and Trust, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Energy Minister Awais Leghari, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and senior officials.
Turkmenistan’s president thanked Sharif for attending the UN-backed peace forum and said Ashgabat was keen to expand cooperation across multiple sectors, according to the statement.
