Sindh govt to move SC against SHC decision in Daniel Pearl murder case

ISLAMABAD: Sindh government has decided to file an appeal against the Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict, overturning the death sentence of a prime suspect, Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh and acquittal of three other convicts in American journalist Daniel Pearl murder case, ARY NEWS reported on Friday.

According to a statement issued from interior ministry, it said that the ministry was aware of the SHC decision in Daniel Pearl murder case and the federal government had expressed its concern over the decision.

“As per the penal laws, the matter lies within the jurisdiction of the provincial government and we have raised the matter with the concerned authorities,” the ministry said.

It said that the provincial government has decided to move the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the decision. “An appeal in this regard will be filed at the apex court in the next week,” the interior ministry said.

We have asked the provincial authorities to use best available resources to plead their case against the decision, it said adding that they were also asked to consult with attorney general of Pakistan on the matter.

Unless an appeal is filed against the accused, they would remain imprisoned under Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO).

“They will remain imprisoned for three more months,” said the statement adding that the government of Pakistan was committed to fulfill all legal options aimed at bringing the perpetrators of terror acts to justice.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh High Court (SHC) announced its verdict on Thursday on the appeals filed by four convicts in the case of the slain American journalist Daniel Pearl.

A two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha has pronounced three of the four accused ‘not guilty’ while the prime accused Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh’s death sentence has been overturned into a seven year jail sentencing.

The judgement was reserved last month on the convicts’ appeals, pending for the past 18 years, and an appeal of the state seeking enhancement of the sentence after hearing arguments and examining the record and proceedings of the case.