SC adjourns Daniel Pearl murder case till Thursday

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

A three-member bench of the 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, advocate Mahmood A Sheik counsel for the accused completed arguments in the case.

Mahmood Sheik said that Daniel Pearl's wife wrote in the FIR that Daniel Pearl went missing on January 23, 2002.

He said that Daniel Pearl's wife received an email from the kidnappers on January 30, 2002. Daniel Pearl's wife was advised in the email to pay the ransom within 24 hours or Daniel Pearl would be killed, he added.

He said that Daniel Pearl's wife filed the lawsuit 13 days after the abduction. The Supreme Court had ruled that delay in registration of case after the incident weakened the case, he added.

He said that the Daniel Pearl case was full of lies and deception as stories had been fabricated in the murder case.

Addressing the counsel, Justice Yahya Afridi said that according to his arguments Daniel Pearl's wife was a strong witness but she did not cooperate.

The counsel said that Daniel Pearl's wife did not make a statement to the investigating officer and did not appear in court. Isra Nomani, a reporter for the American magazine, was the main character in this case, he added.

He said that there was no concrete evidence that Omar Ahmed Sheikh had any contact with Daniel Pearl.