The SC three-member bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam announced the verdict and dismissed appeals of the Sindh government and parents of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Jan 28th, 2021) The Supreme Court has ordered to release Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh who was convicted by a trail court over charges of beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl.
The Top court has upheld decision of the Sindh High Court (SHC) by dismissing Sindh government’s appeals against to overturn conviction of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam ordered to release the suspect. However, one member of the bench opposed the decision.
The prosecution submitted a letter written by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in 2019 in which he had confessed his minor role in the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter, before the Supreme Court almost two weeks ago.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that Sheikh’s counsels confirmed before the top court their client wrote it. Nowhere in the three-page letter written to SHC the British-born Sheikh elaborate or say exactly what his allegedly minor role in Pearl’s slaying involved.
Daniel Pearl, 38, was abducted in January 2002 when he was doing some research on religious extremism in Karachi. According to a graphic video, his decapitation was delivered to the US consulate a month later of the horrific incident. After Daniel’s murder, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was arrested for his alleged role and was awarded death sentence by a trial court.
However, Sindh High Court on April 2, 2020 allowed appeals of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh challenging conviction of the trial court for killing South Asia Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal. Three other men including Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib all were also acquitted by the SHC.
The Sindh government and parents of Daniel Pearl challenged Sindh High Court’s decision before the Supreme Court.
During the proceedings, the Sindh Advocate general argued that Sheikh was the prime suspect and was linked to banned outfits. He said that the provincial government had submitted sensitive information to the court in a sealed envelope.
“No solid evidence is there to prove the case,” the court observed and dismissed the appeals.
