SC hears appeals against release of Daniel Pearl murder accused

ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court bench on Wednesday denied a plea of the Sindh government seeking extension in the stay order preventing release of Daniel Pearl murder case accused from detention, ARY News reported.

A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, heard appeals of the provincial government and the family of Daniel Pearl against acquittal of the convicts by the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Prosecutor General Sindh sought time from the court for preparation of the case. He said written arguments will be submitted to the court before the next hearing of the case.

The bench denied the plea seeking extension in the stay order preventing release of the accused. The government has already kept the accused in detention for three months, Justice Mushir Alam remarked.

“The accused not being released from detention despite the acquittal order,” defence counsel Mehmood Shaikh said. ” The high court had remarked that the accused have passed prime time of their lives in jail,” the counsel further said.

Justice Qazi Ameen, a member of the bench, said that the acquittal decision of accused was also suspended in Mukhtaran Mai case, the accused of that case were also acquitted after passing time in jail, he said.

The bench adjourned further hearing of the case till October 21.

The Supreme Court in previous hearing approved appeals of the Sindh government and family of American journalist Daniel Pearl for preliminary hearing against Sindh High Court’s decision.

The bench had also prevented the government from release of the accused till the next hearing of the case.

The court had also approved petition of the parents of slain journalist to be a party in the case.

An anti-terrorism court of Hyderabad, had awarded death sentence to key accused Omer Saeed Sheikh on July 15 in 2002, on the charges of kidnapping and killing the American journalist, while his three accomplices Fahad Naseem, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh Muhammad Adil were handed life sentence with a fine of Rs 600,000 each.

The ATC had also directed the convicts to pay Rs two million to the victim’s widow, Marianne Pearl.

The state had filed an appeal seeking the life terms of three convicts to be converted in death sentence.

Daniel Pearl, a reporter of The Wall Street Journal, went missing in Karachi in January 2002 while he was working on a story. He was later found to be abducted and beheaded.