US deeply concerned as Pakistan court orders release of terrorists who killed Daniel Pearl

The United States on Thursday expressed deep concerns over a Pakistan court ordering the release of multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered the release of British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides -- Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil-- who were earlier convicted and sentenced in the case. They are to walk out of the prison on Saturday as their release orders were received very late. 

"We are deeply concerned by the reports of the December 24 ruling of Sindh High Court to release multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl. We have been assured that the accused have not been released at this time," the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the US State Department tweeted. The US has been mounting pressure on Pakistan for years, demanding justice for Pearl, but to little avail.

'We are deeply concerned...'

"We understand that this case is ongoing and will be following closely. We continue to stand with the Pearl family through this extremely difficult process. We continue to honour Daniel Pearl's legacy as a courageous journalist," it added.

A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court directed security agencies not to keep Sheikh and other accused under "any sort of detention" and declared all notifications of the Sindh government related to their detention "null and void". The court observed that the four men's detention was "illegal".

Pak court orders release of terrorist Omar Sheikh

According to the Jail Superintendent, the four men could not be released from Karachi's Central Jail on Thursday as the prison authorities received orders from the Sindh High Court for their release very late. According to the legal counsel for the four men, they would now be released on Saturday as Friday is a public holiday in the country.

In April, a two-judge Sindh High Court bench commuted the death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven years imprisonment. The court also acquitted his three aides who were serving life terms in the case almost two decades after they were found guilty and jailed. 

However, the Sindh government refused to release them and kept them in detention under the Maintenance of Public Order.  Their continuous detention was challenged in the Sindh High Court, which ordered their release. However, it asked to place their names on the no-fly list so that they could not leave the country. It also directed them to appear before the court whenever summoned. 

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A three-judge apex court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam is hearing the appeal by the Sindh government and the family of the slain journalist against the acquittal of Sheikh. 

Pearl, the then 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country's powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.

Pearl's murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, were released by India in 1999 and given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814.

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(With agency inputs)