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Pakistan Re-Arrests Men Convicted in Murder of American Journalist Daniel
Pearl

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Authorities in Pakistan have re-arrested four men convicted
   in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, a day after a
   provincial appeals court overturned their convictions and allowed them
   to walk out of prison.
   The accused included British national Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh, who had
   been on death row since his conviction 18 years ago for plotting the
   murder of The Wall Street Journal reporter. Three others, Fahad Naseem,
   Salman Saqib, and Sheikh Adil were serving life sentences.
   Sindh provincial authorities on Friday cited "public safety" concerns
   for holding the four men.
   "The government of Sindh has sufficient reason that Ahmed Omar Sheikh
   and Fahad Nasim Ahmed, Syed Salman Saqib, Sheikh Muhammad Adil be
   arrested and detained for a period of three months from the date of
   arrest (April 2, 2020)," said an official notification.
   Pearl, 38 at the time of his murder, was visiting Pakistan in January
   2002 to investigate links between Islamist militants and planners of
   the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes on the United States before he
   was kidnapped in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, and
   beheaded weeks later.
   Pakistani officials have vowed they would appeal to the Supreme Court
   against the provincial court's Thursday ruling clearing the four
   convicts.
   US condemned ruling
   The two-judge panel's ruling drew a swift denunciation from Washington
   and globally as well as from groups in Pakistan campaigning for the
   rights and security of journalists.
   "The overturning of the convictions for Daniel Pearl's murder is an
   affront to victims of terrorism everywhere," tweeted the top American
   diplomat for South and Central Asia.
   "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," wrote Alice Wells, the principal U.S. deputy
   assistant secretary.

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