SHC exempts Sindh chief secretary in Pearl case contempt hearing

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday exempted Chief Secretary Sindh from appearing in a contempt petition hearing over detention of the accused of Daniel Pearl murder case, ARY News reported.

Ahmed Omer Saeed and others had moved a contempt petition in the high court against their detention.

The court had issued notices to the Chief Secretary Sindh and others and sought the government reply over the issue.

The bench while granting exemption to the chief secretary, ruled that the home secretary and other officials would have to appear in the hearing.

Advocate General Sindh pleaded the court to adjourn hearing until the Supreme Court decides an appeal against the Sindh High Court verdict in Daniel Pearl murder case.

Sindh’s top government lawyer also sought an exemption to the chief secretary and the home secretary from appearing in the case hearing.

The court adjourned further hearing of the petition for two weeks.

A bench of the high court had declared a notification with regard to detention of four accused Ahmed Omer Saeed Shaikh, Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil, as null and void and ordered their immediate release from jail.

A contempt of court petition was filed against the provincial chief secretary, jail officials and others over the government’s failure in compliance of the court orders.

Provincial home department had detained the accused under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on September 28.

Four convicts of the murder case, Ahmed Omer Saeed and others had moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) challenging their convictions handed down by the Hyderabad Anti-Terrorism Court in 2002, after finding them guilty of abducting and killing American Journalist Daniel Pearl.

The ATC had handed death sentence to main accused Ahmed Omer Saeed Shaikh and life sentences to other three accused.

The high court overturned the verdict of the ATC and acquitted convicts on April 02 last year.

The Sindh Government and the family of Daniel Pearl filed appeals against the high court verdict in Supreme Court and the case has been under hearing in the apex court.

38-year-old South Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, was working on a story on religious extremists, in January 2002 in Karachi, when he was abducted and slain.