Daniel Pearl’s murder case strains US-Pakistan relations
https://arab.news/r9s6a
Pakistan Supreme Court’s order acquitting Ahmed Saeed Omar Sheikh, the main accused in the 2002 killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl, could become a major irritant in relations between Islamabad and the new US administration. The court order to release Omar Sheikh has left Pakistan in a serious quandary as it tries to build bridges with its erstwhile ally. The US has strongly reacted to the decision, and called it ‘a travesty of justice.’
The Pakistan government has filed a review petition but there is little hope of the decision being overturned. The prospect of the man who had masterminded the kidnapping of the slain Wall Street Journal bureau chief roaming free, has raised questions about the country’s judicial system failing to convict hardcore militants.
Omar Sheikh, a British national of Pakistani origin was convicted and sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2002 on charges of kidnapping and murder of the American journalist. But last year, Sindh High Court upheld Sheikh’s appeal commuting his death sentence and ordering his release after 18 years. The High Court decision was challenged in the Supreme Court by the government of Pakistan and Pearl’s family.
In his first telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, the newly stalled US Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed his government’s deep concern over the court order. Condemning the decision as an “affront to terrorism victims everywhere,” he said the US was willing to take custody of Sheikh and stand him on trial for his “horrific crimes against an American citizen."
Pearl’s murder case has become a serious test for Pakistan to show to the United States and the international community that it is serious about fighting militancy and bring to justice hardened militants. But a flawed law enforcement system unable to prosecute militants remains a major problem.
The acquittal of the man accused of multiple criminal acts is sad testimony of the country’s battle against militancy. Most militants are freed because of lack of evidence.
Zahid Hussain
Legal experts maintain that the prosecution failed to produce convincing evidence that holds in a court of law. The acquittal of the man accused of multiple criminal acts is sad testimony of the country’s battle against militancy. Most militants are freed because of lack of evidence.
Intriguingly, it has taken the court close to two decades to dispose of the appeal in one of the world’s most high profile terrorism cases. Several judges were changed during that period. There has also been an instance where the judge refused to hear the case. The delay was also caused by a lack of interest on the part of the prosecution. Pakistan needs to reform its law enforcement system in order to make its counter terrorism efforts more effective.
The Wall Street Journal’s South Asia bureau chief was kidnapped in January 2002 while researching a story on militancy. Pearl’s kidnapping was conceived and organized by Sheikh who later handed over the journalist to Al Qaeda, with Pearl reportedly killed by Khalid Sheikh Muhammad-- the 9/11 mastermind. In May 2002, police found Pearl’s body buried in a nursery on the outskirts of Karachi. Pearl’s kidnapping was the first violent response of the Al Qaeda linked Pakistani militant groups to the American attack on Afghanistan.
Omar Sheikh refused to defend himself in his trial before an anti-terrorism court, saying it was a waste of time, and warned of a decisive war “between Islam and the infidels.” He appeared defiant as the judge pronounced him guilty of conspiring in Pearl’s kidnapping and sentenced him to death. In a letter Sheikh wrote in 2019, he admitted limited involvement in Pearl’s death.
Sheikh has long been associated with militant groups. The son of a wealthy Pakistani businessman who migrated to Britain for a better economic future, he fit the profile of a classic politically aware militant. His passage to militancy started in 1992 when he went to Bosnia to help Muslims who suffered persecution following the break up of former Yugoslavia.
After his return to London, he dropped out of the London School of Economics and headed to a training camp in Afghanistan where he established links with Harkat ul Mujahideen (HuM), an Al Qaeda affiliated Pakistani based militant group. In July 1994, Sheikh went to Delhi where he was involved in the kidnapping of a group of tourists, including one American and three British citizens. He was captured after a shoot-out.
Indian authorities freed him in December 2000 in exchange for the passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked during a flight from Katmandu and taken to Kandahar during Taliban rule.
It will not be legally possible for the Pakistan government to extradite Sheikh to the United States for trial, and the issue will remain a serious obstacle in improving relations between Washington and Islamabad.
– Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a former scholar at Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholar, USA, and a visiting fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, and at the Stimson Center in Washington DC. He is author of Frontline Pakistan: The struggle with militant Islam (Columbia university press) and The Scorpion’s tail: The relentless rise of Islamic militants in Pakistan (Simon and Schuster, NY). Frontline Pakistan was the book of the year (2007) by the WSJ.
Twitter: @hidhussain
