Pakistan appeals against acquittal in Daniel Pearl murder case

Authorities in Pakistan have petitioned the Supreme Court to review its decision to free British-born Pakistani Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three accomplices convicted of kidnapping and beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl, the Pearl family lawyer confirmed on Sunday.

The petition was filed by the provincial government of Sindh on Friday, a day after the court acquitted Sheikh and others, who were convicted for the Wall Street Journal reporter’s murder in 2002. “The petition was filed to seek a review and request the court to recall the order of acquittal,” said Fayyaz Shah, the prosecutor general for the Sindh government.

Following the top court’s decision on Thursday, the Biden administration had expressed an outrage, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki underscoring the new US administration’s commitment to secure justice for Pearl’s family.

“This decision to exonerate and release Sheikh and the other suspects is an affront to terrorism victims everywhere, including in Pakistan,” she said, calling on the “Pakistani government to expeditiously review its legal options including allowing the United States to prosecute Sheikh for the brutal murder of an American citizen and journalist”.

Washington said last month that it “stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial insisting the US “cannot allow him to evade justice for his role in Daniel Pearl’s abduction and murder.”

Legal experts in Pakistan, however, maintain that the country’s laws do not allow another country to undertake such an intervention.

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