Pak SC orders release of Daniel Pearl murder accused

Thursday's development comes a day after Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh admitted in the Supreme Court that he had played a "minor" role in the brutal killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl 19 years ago.

Islamabad:The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key accused in the 2002 kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The apex court dismissed the Sindh government's appeal against the Sindh High Court's (SHC) decision to overturn Sheikh's conviction, reports Dawn news.

In its the verdict, the three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam also directed to release the suspect.

Only one member opposed the decision.

Read:|Role in Daniel Pearl's murder was minor, says suspect

The 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal was researching religious extremism in Karachi when he was abducted in January 2002.

A graphic video showing his beheading was delivered to the US consulate a month later.

Subsequently, Sheikh was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to death by a trial court.

In its April 2, 2020, order, the SHC had overturned his conviction.

The provincial high court had also acquitted three other men namely Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib, who had been earlier sentenced to life imprisonment by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi.

IANS

Read:|Ready to try Daniel Pearl murderers if Pak courts can't: US