Daniel Pearl
The Pakistani Supreme Court denied the General Prosecutor's Office to overturn the verdict on the release of Ahmed Omar Sheikh. He is accused of the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, writes The Express Tribune.
The Prosecutor General's Office asked to extend the consideration of the case of Sheikh and his supporters, also accused of a crime, for a week. At the same time, the court decided to extend the arrest of the murderers by one day, and also requested all the case materials.
The Express Tribune notes that the Attorney General's request may have been triggered by a campaign against the release of Pearl's killer. Its participants believe that by its decision the Pakistani court actually brought closer the release of the Sheikh, who beheaded the American journalist.
TASS recalls that earlier Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi said that the Sheikh would not be extradited to the United States. At the same time, the Pakistani government in a petition to the Supreme Court expressed its disagreement with the release of the Sheikh.
Pearl, who ran The Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau, was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002. The Islamists demanded in exchange for his release to release the guantanamo militants. In February, the journalist's throat was slit and then his head cut off. His execution is captured on video that was sent to the US authorities. Pearl's body was discovered in May 2002.
