SC adjourns Daniel Pearl murder case till Thursday

ISLAMABAD (APP): The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday adjourned hearing against the accused, acquitted by the Sindh High Court (SHC) in American journalist Daniel Pearl murder case till Thursday.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi heard the appeals filed by the Sindh government and Pearl’s parents challenging the acquittal of the previously convicted men by the SHC.

The petitioners challenged the April 2, high court verdict that overturned the sentences of four convicts in the case.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Faisal Siddiqui counsel for Daniel Pearl’s heirs submitted documents regarding terrorism charges against main accused Umar Ahmed Sheikh.

The court sought response from the Sindh government on terrorism charges against Umar Sheikh.

The bench asked why prosecution did not present the case before the court despite having such a powerful case.

Advocate Mahmood A Sheikh, counsel for the accused, submitted Umar Sheikh’s letter in the court. Umar Sheikh had written a letter to the SHC chief justice from the jail, he added.

He said Umar Sheikh had stated in the letter that he had been in jail for 17 years and his case should be fixed for hearing. Umar Sheikh had also stated in the letter that a man named Atta-ur-Rehman was involved in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, he added.

He alleged that Atta-ur-Rehman was detained by the army and was not produced in court. Umar Sheikh had been kept in solitary confinement in the jail, he added.

He said the cell in which Umar Sheikh was kept in jail was like a grave.