by Chidanand Rajghatta & Omer Farooq Khan in Times of India, Dec 26, 2020
WASHINGTON: Distracted by domestic political wrangles and the holiday season in its final weeks in office, the outgoing Trump administration still
managed to zero in on Pakistan trying to spring yet another terrorist, Omar Saeed, accused of murdering Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pearl, from
prison, warning that it is closely following the matter.
“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 State Department said in a readout on Thursday,
without mentioning Saeed’s name.
A court in Pakistan earlier this week ordered the release of the British-born terrorist who was accused of killing WSJ South Asia
correspondent Daniel Pearl in 2002 after government prosecutors failed to make the case against him although 18 years have
passed since the gruesome murder. Sheikh was acquitted of the murder earlier this year but had remained in jail after an appeal against that decision began.
But the Sindh high court in Karachi ruled this week that Sheikh’s temporary detention was illegal and he should be released
soon.
The State Department, however, cottoned on to the judicial caper and virtually called for his continued incarceration.
“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 tweeted.
Earlier on Friday, Daniel Pearl’s parents — Ruth and Judea Pearl — expressed confidence that the Supreme Court of Pakistan would provide justice for their son.
In a statement, the parents condemned the HC decision. “We refuse to believe that the Pakistani government and the Pakistani people will let such a travesty of justice tarnish the image and legacy of Pakistan,” they said. “We are heartened to hear that the federal government is filing an appeal against the latest release order,” they said, adding that they believe Pearl’s murderers will remain in jail.
Daniel Pearl (38) was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002. Pearl’s wife Marianne, a US national who was living in Karachi, wrote a letter to the police on February 2, 2002 stating that her husband had disappeared on January 23, 2002. Later, a graphic video showing Pearl’s decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in Karachi nearly a month after his abduction.
Saeed is one of the dozens of terrorists who flocked to Pakistan in the 90s when it provided fertile ground and support for terrorism in an effort to leverage their violence for its political objectives. The policy, including support for the Taliban in Afghanistan, led to 9/11, which too resulted in Islamabad milking the situation for billions of dollars as it gave spotty access to the US hunting down the perpetrators.
Pakistan’s luck finally a ran out during the Obama era and it became completely marginalized in the Trump years, also individual US lawmakers and special interest still tried to parcel out aid to a country that has repeatedly bitten the hand that fed it. Only last week Pakistan was in the news again for a $25 million aid for promoting democracy and gender studies tucked into the spending bill at a time millions of Americans are in dire straits because of the coronavirus pandemic.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-warns-pakistan-not-to-free-daniel-pearl-killer-omar-saeed/articleshowprint/79956855.cms
