Image Source : FILE US ‘outraged’ over Pakistan SC acquitting Daniel Pearl’s killers: White House
The White House has expressed “outrage” over the Pakistan Supreme Court’s determination acquitting these concerned within the sensational kidnapping and homicide of Daniel Pearl in 2002 and stated that the judgement is an “affront” to terrorism victims all over the place. Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and beheaded whereas he was in Pakistan investigating a narrative in 2002 on the hyperlinks between the nation’s highly effective spy company ISI and al-Qaeda.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed appeals towards the acquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh within the kidnapping and homicide case of Pearl and ordered his launch, a judgement denounced by the American journalist’s household as “a complete travesty of justice.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, throughout her each day information convention on Thursday, stated: “The United States is outraged by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to affirm the acquittals of those responsible for Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and brutal murder which shocked the world’s conscience in 2002”.
“This determination to exonerate and launch Sheikh and the opposite suspects is an affront to terrorism victims all over the place, together with in Pakistan. We recognise previous Pakistani actions to attempt to maintain Mr Pearl’s murderers accountable, and we do word that as of proper now, Omar Sheikh stays in detention in Pakistan below nationwide safety authorities.
“But we call on the Pakistani government to expeditiously review its legal options including allowing the United States to prosecute for the brutal murder of an American citizen and journalist,” Psaki stated in response to a query on the most recent improvement in Pakistan.
Sheikh and his three aides – Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib – have been convicted and sentenced within the abduction and homicide case of Pearl in Karachi in 2002.
The United States, she stated, is dedicated to securing justice for Pearl’s household and holding terrorists anyplace accountable for his or her heinous crimes.
Reacting to the acquittal, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, in a strongly worded assertion, urged Pakistan to discover all authorized choices to make sure that the killers of Pearl are delivered to justice.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to acquit those involved in Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder and any proposed action to release them,” he stated.
Blinken stated: “Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh was indicted in the United States in 2002 for hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, resulting in the murder of Pearl, the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, as well as the 1994 kidnapping of another United States citizen in India”.
The court docket’s determination is an affront to terrorism victims all over the place, together with in Pakistan, he stated.
“We expect the Pakistani government to expeditiously review its legal options to ensure justice is served. We take note of the Attorney General’s statement that he intends to seek review and recall of the decision. We are also prepared to prosecute Sheikh in the United States for his horrific crimes against an American citizen,” Blinken stated.
The United States is dedicated to securing justice for Pearl’s household and holding terrorists accountable, he stated.
Pearl’s homicide occurred three years after Sheikh, together with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was launched by India in 1999 and given secure passage to Afghanistan in alternate for the practically 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814.
He was serving a jail time period in India for kidnappings of Western vacationers within the nation.
The beheading of the American journalist in 2002 had grabbed worldwide headlines.
Pakistan Supreme Court ordered that three others, who had been sentenced to life in jail for his or her half in Pearl’s kidnapping and dying, even be freed.
Ruth and Judea Pearl – the dad and mom of Pearl – criticised the judgment that might endanger the lives of journalists all over the place, stated Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl household lawyer.
In April 2020, a two-judge Sindh High Court bench commuted the dying sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven years imprisonment. The court docket additionally acquitted his three aides who have been serving life phrases within the case – virtually twenty years after they have been discovered responsible and jailed.
The Sindh authorities and household of Pearl filed petitions within the apex court docket, difficult the excessive court docket verdict.
The US has been mounting strain on Pakistan, demanding justice for Pearl.
Last month, the US stated it is able to take custody of Sheikh, asserting that Washington won’t permit him to evade justice.
Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson stated the US is deeply involved by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the acquittal of people convicted by a Pakistani trial court docket.
“The release of those involved would be an affront to Daniel Pearl’s family, to other terrorism victims around the world, and to the cause of justice,” Wilkinson stated.
In a tweet, Congressman Brad Sherman stated: “The killers of Daniel Pearl go free. And Dr. Afridi, who helped the US get Osama Bin Laden, rots in jail.”
“We are deeply disappointed that Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acquitted and ordered the release of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, despite overwhelming evidence of Sheikh’s involvement in the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, which led directly to his murder,” stated Steven Butler, Committee to Protect Journalist’s Asia program coordinator.
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