Daniel Pearl Kidnap & Murder: Pakistan Supreme Court Acquits Accused; Orders Their Release

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted the accused in Daniel Pearl Kidnap and Murder case and ordered their release.

The majority of 2 to 1 upheld the Sindh High Court order acquitting the accused and also allowed the appeal filed by Ahmed Omer Shaikh against his conviction under section 362 of Pakistan Penal Code. Justice Mushir Alam authored the Majority order in which it is stated that the reasons will be recorded later. Justice Yahya Afridi gave a dissenting opinion.

Daniel Pearl, an American journalist, was abducted in Pakistan's Karachi in January 2002 while he was working as the South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. He was then working on a report about  Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Pearl was later beheaded and a graphic video of his decapitation was sent to Karachi's US consulate about a month later. (Source: IE) 

Ahmed Omer Sheikh, Fahad Nasim Ahmed, Syed Salman Saqib and Shaikh Muhammad Adil were earlier convicted by the Trial Court. Shaikh was awarded death penalty. 

Later, in April 2020, the Sindh High Court reversed the murder conviction but convicted Sheikh guilty of the lesser charge of kidnapping, sentencing him to seven years in prison. The other three accused were acquitted by the High Court.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is among the three terrorists that India had freed in 2000 in exchange for the hostages of the hijacked IC-814. 

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