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‘US will not forget Daniel Pearl’: Pompeo slams Pakistan court’s verdict
The United States on Friday criticised the Pakistani court for overturning the death sentence of Sheikh, calling the verdict an “affront” to victims of terrorism everywhere.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday reiterated that his country would not forget slain journalist Daniel Pearl after a Pakistani court a day earlier commuted the death sentence of his murderer Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh to a prison term of seven years.
“The United States will not forget #DanielPearl. We continue to honour his legacy as a courageous journalist and demand justice for his brutal murder,” Pompeo tweeted.
The United States on Friday criticised the Pakistani court for overturning the death sentence of Sheikh, calling the verdict an “affront” to victims of terrorism everywhere.
“The overturning of the convictions for Daniel Pearl’s murder is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere,” Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said in a tweet.
But the top diplomat for South Asia, however, welcomed Pakistani prosecutors’ indications that they would appeal the decision.
“We welcome Pakistan’s decision to appeal the verdict. Those responsible for Daniel’s heinous kidnapping and murder must face the full measure of justice,” Wells said.
Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh, the terrorist who had been convicted of the 2002 abduction and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, had his death sentence commuted to a prison term of seven years by a Pakistani court on Thursday.
The Sindh high court ruling came in response to appeals by Sheikh and three other men convicted in connection for the killing of the Wall Street Journal journalist.
The high court overturned the verdict of an anti-terrorism court.
Sheikh (46), a British citizen of Pakistani origin, was freed by India with Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar and terrorist Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar in exchange for the passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked by a group of Pakistani terrorists and taken to Kandahar in December 1999.
The murder conviction of Sheikh was overturned by the high court, which found him guilty of the lesser charge of kidnapping, for which he was given the seven-year prison term.
The court also acquitted and set free the three other men – Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil, who were earlier sentenced to life imprisonment.
Daniel Pearl was an American national and the South Asia bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal. He was kidnapped in Karachi on January 23, 2002 and later beheaded by his abductors.
The four men were convicted by the anti-terrorism court on July 15, 2002. They filed appeals in the high court four days later.
Pakistan’s Sindh province government on Friday invoked the Maintenance of Public Order to keep in jail the British-born al-Qaeda leader. He has been in jail for the past 18 years.
The Sindh government acted swiftly to invoke the MPO which allows it to keep the four convicts behind bars for three months.
According to a notification issued by the Sindh Home Ministry, the release of Sheikh and his three associates could jeopardize the law and order situation in the province, thus necessitating their continued detention.
