SC adjourns Daniel Pearl murder case till Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday adjourned hearing of a case against acquittal of accused by the Sindh High Court (SHC) in American journalist Daniel Pearl murder case till Wednesday.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi heard the appeals filed by the Sindh government and Pearl’s parents challenging the acquittal of the previously convicted men by the Sindh High Court (SHC).

The petitioners challenged the April 02 high court verdict that overturned the sentences of four convicts in the case.

During the course of proceedings, Faisal Siddiqui, counsel for Daniel Pearl's parents said everyone in the case, including the court and witnesses, received threats. The case was shifted from Karachi to Hyderabad after receiving threats, he added.

He said that terrorism cases were registered against the accused on confessional statements. The court had to strike a balance between the basic rights of the accused and the plaintiff, he added.

After completion of Faisal Siddiqui's arguments, Advocate Mahmood Sheikh counsel for the accused termed the whole case as a result of lies and pressure.

He said that the United States sent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents for Daniel Pearl. No country sent its investigations agencies for its ordinary citizens, he added.

He said that the Daniel Pearl's heirs' lawyer called prosecution case weak. Prosecution witnesses made conflicting statements before the investigation team and in court, he added.

He said that Daniel Pearl was an American citizen, so the evidence was fabricated. It was stated that the murder plot was hatched in a hotel in Rawalpindi but according to the hotel receptionist, he did not knew Ahmed Omar Sheikh, he added.

He alleged that confessions were obtained from the accused through torture. There was no evidence of any meeting between the accused, he added.