Pakistan govt to join review proceedings in Daniel Pearl murder case after SC acquits main accused

The
government of Pakistan on Saturday announced that it would formally join the
review proceedings, initiated by the Sindh administration against Supreme court’s
order to acquit British-born al-Qaeda terrorist, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and
his three aides in connection with the murder case of US journalist Daniel
Pearl.

The
announcement was made by a spokesman of the Attorney General of Pakistan after
he said that the federal government is set to file an appropriate application
before the apex court to be allowed to join as a party in the legal proceedings
and seek review of the court’s judgment on the Pearl murder case.

Also Read | White House ‘outraged’ by release of journalist Daniel Pearl’s accused killer

The statements came at the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s Thursday order to release the main accused in the Pearl murder case, Sheikh and his aides — Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib.

The
highest court dismissed appeals by the Sindh High Court that advocated against
the acquittal of accused.

The
Pakistan government’s announcement is also seen as a result of conversation
between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood
Qureshi took place a day before in this regard.

Daniel
Pearl, the 38 year old journalist and South Asia bureau chief for The Wall
Street Journal, was investigating a news story based on the links of spy agency
ISI and terrorist agency Al-Qaeda when he was abducted and beheaded in the
Pakistani soil.

According
to media reports, the Supreme Court of Pakistan would hear the review petition
on February 1 though no formal announcement has been made as yet.

Meanwhile, the Pearl family condemned the Supreme court judgement by calling it “a complete travesty of justice”.

The
US State Department on the other hand assured that it will continue to monitor
the developments in the case would support the Pearl family “through this
extremely difficult process”, while honouring the legacy of the
“courageous journalist”.