Sindh govt moves Pak SC against acquittals in Daniel Pearl murder case

The Sindh government has challenged its provincial high court's order in the Pakistan Supreme Court, wherein British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three others were acquitted in US journalist Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and murder case.

The Sindh government has challenged its provincial high court's order in the Pakistan Supreme Court, wherein British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three others were acquitted in US journalist Del Pearl's kidnapping and murder case.

Prosecutor General Sindh Dr Fiaz Shah filed a criminal petition for leave to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the judgment passed by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on April 2, The News International reported.

The court had overturned the life imprisonment of Omar Saeed along with conviction of three other men for the killing of Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, back in 2002.

Pearl was abducted and killed in the southern port city of Karachi while he was working on an investigation about terror groups' links to Al Qaeda.

A day after SHC overturned their convictions, the four men acquitted were re-arrested.

The Pakistan Interior Ministry had said in a statement that the men's release was halted after they were re-arrested through a measure, allowing the government to hold suspects for three months.

The ministry said it "reiterates its commitment to follow the due process under the laws of the country to bring terrorists to the task."

Alice Wells, a senior State Department official had said, "The overturning of the convictions for Del Pearl's murder is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere."

"Those responsible for Del's heinous kidnapping and murder must face the full measure of justice," she had added.

( With inputs from ANI )