ISLAMABAD: The Sindh prosecution alleged that a conspiracy was hatched by the accused to kidnap and kill Daniel Pearl, bureau chief of Wall Street Journal in Pakistan. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, heard the Sindh government and the Daniel Pearl's parents' appeals against the SHC to acquit Daniel Pearl's alleged murderers.
Farooq H Naek, representing the Sindh government, in order to establish his case read the statements of prosecution witnesses - Asif Mehfooz Farooqui (PW-6), a journalist who worked with Japanese media, Amir Afzal Qureshi (PW-7), a reception in a local hotel in Rawalpindi, and Javed Abbas (PW-3), Karachi police inspector, who investigated the case. Naek told the bench that according to the statement of Asif, he arranged Daniel Pearl with Omer Sheikh with the help of a man named Arif (co-accused) in Room No 411 of Akbar Hotel, a local hotel in Rawalpindi.
The Sindh prosecutor argued that Omer Sheikh used fake names to hide his identity, adding this showed criminal intent. In a meeting with Asif and Pearl the accused, Omer Sheikh used the name of Bashir, while to the hotel management in Rawalpindi, he gave his name as Muzaffar Farooqui. He alleged that a conspiracy was hatched in the hotel room.
Justice Yahya Afridi, a member of the bench, questioned what do you want to convey? How do you bring in conspiracy?
He further asked what kind of evidence that proves the conspiracy.
Farooq H Naek, replied that the conspiracy was hatched gradually and not in one go.
The conspiracy took place behind the scene, and it started with the abduction of Daniel Pearl, and with the absconding of the co-accused (Arif).
The counsel informed that Daniel Pearl was lured to arrange his meeting with Syed Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani, founder of The Muslims of America. He told that many believe that Richard Reid, British Islamist militant, who gained notoriety as the so-called Shoe Bomber in 2001, tried to blow the US passenger plane as he was impressed with the teaching of Ali Gilani.
He said according to defence witnesses (DW), the accused (Omer Sheikh) had strong apprehension before his arrest that he would be extradited to the USA.
"I know that Omer Sheikh was arrested by Indian authority, he was tried in India, and thereafter he was released/acquitted in some case and got released on account of hijacking of Indian Airlines, by some persons. The airline was hijacked from Khadmando to Kabul," said the statement of Ahmed Rauf Sheikh (DW), a relative of Omer Sheikh.
A division of the Sindh High Court, Karachi, heard the appeals together and delivered the judgment on 02-04-2020, acquitted the accused.
It also held that the subject case does not fall within the purview of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and Omer Sheikh is entitled to both remissions in accordance with law and the benefit of Section 382-B, Criminal Procedure Code, 1898. Daniel Pearl was killed in Karachi in January, 2002. His wife Mariane Pearl on 04.02.2002 had filed an FIR at Artillery Maidan Police Station Karachi.
A trial court on 15-07-2002 convicted Ahmad Omer Saeed Sheikh and awarded him death sentence, while Adil Sheikh, Salman Saqib, and Fahad Nasim were given life imprisonment under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
The convicts challenged the sentence in the Sindh High Court.
The State also filed Special Anti-Terrorism appeal for enhancement of sentence of life imprisonment awarded to Adil Sheikh, Salman Saqib, and Fahad Nasim in the SHC.
Omer Sheikh, who had already spent 18 years in prison on death row after being sentenced by an anti-terrorism court, was expected to be released after the high court verdict as his seven-year sentence was to be counted as time already served.
However, the Sindh government under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) detained Omer Sheikh and four others, whose convictions had been overturned, till September 30th.
The Sindh prosecution on April 22 filed an appeal under Article 185(3) of Constitution in the Supreme Court, while the Daniel's parents - Ruth Pearl and Judea Pearl-on May 2 filed the constitutional petition.
It is their stance that the SHC wrongly held that the convictions and sentences awarded by the trial court to the respondents No 2 to 4, and Ahmed Omer Sheikh could not be sustained on the basis of the standard of proof, meaning that the prosecution has not been able to prove the case against the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt and the benefit of doubt must go to the accused persons.
They have submitted that these facts are admitted, first, the deceased person was abducted.
Second, the deceased person was abducted/kidnapped for ransom as ransom emails were received and recovered.
However, what is denied by the respondents No 2 to 4 and Ahmed Omer Sheikh is their role in sending the ransom emails but not the fact that the ransom emails were actually received. Third, the deceased person was brutally murdered by way of beheading.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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