Islamabad:
The Pakistan government on Saturday announced that it would formally join the assessment proceedings initiated by the Sindh administration against the Supreme Court’s acquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his 3 aides in the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl.
Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded although he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the hyperlinks in between the country’s effective spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of key accused Sheikh and his aides — Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib — by dismissing appeals against their acquittal by the Sindh High Court. The judgement was denounced by Pearl’s family members as “a complete travesty of justice”.
The Sindh government on Friday filed a assessment petition in the major court against the acquittal of Sheikh and his 3 accomplices.
A spokesman of the Attorney General of Pakistan on Saturday announced that the federal government will file an suitable application prior to the major court to be permitted to join as a party in the proceedings and additional seek assessment and recall of the court’s January 28 judgement.
The federal government will file an application for the constitution of a bigger bench to hear the assessment petitions. In cooperation with the provincial government, the federal government will continue to take all legal actions to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice in accordance with the law, the spokesman stated.
The announcement came a day following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi more than phone and discussed the accountability of convicted terrorists accountable for the brutal murder of Pearl.
Blinken also expressed “deep concern” more than the major court’s judgement.
The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement stated Qureshi “underscored that it was important and in the mutual interest that justice is served through legal means”.
According to some media reports, the Supreme Court would hear the assessment petition on February 1. However, no formal announcement has been produced as however.
In April 2020, a two-judge Sindh High Court bench commuted the death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven years imprisonment. The court also acquitted his 3 aides who had been serving life terms in the case — just about two decades following they had been located guilty and jailed.
The Sindh government and family members of Pearl filed petitions in the major court, difficult the higher court verdict.
The Sindh government invoked the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1960 to maintain the 4 males beneath detention.
Their continuous detention was challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC), which on December 24 directed safety agencies not to maintain Sheikh and other accused beneath “any sort of detention” and declared all notifications of the Sindh government associated to their detention “null and void”.
The order elicited an quick response from the US, which on December 25 expressed its “deep concerns” more than the SHC order.
The US State Department stated it will continue to monitor any developments in the case and will continue to assistance the Pearl family members “through this extremely difficult process”, although honouring the legacy of the “courageous journalist”.
The US has been mounting stress on Pakistan, demanding justice for Pearl.
Last month, the US stated it is prepared to take custody of Sheikh, asserting that Washington will not enable him to evade justice.
Sheikh in a handwritten letter to the SHC in 2019 admitted his restricted involvement in the killing of Pearl. The letter was presented to the Supreme Court practically two weeks ago and Sheikh’s lawyer on Wednesday confirmed the letter.
The accused, having said that, did not clarify the nature of his part which he stated was “just minor”.