The United States Department of Justice released a statement thanking the Pakistan government for appealing against a court order acquitting Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted over the 2002 beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
This controversial decision is now being appealed separately by the Pakistani government, and by Pearl's family in the Supreme Court; stating that Sheikh's release from prison would endanger the public.
On Thursday, the Sindh High Court ordered the release of Omar Sheikh, a British-born militant who was accused of killing Daniel Pearl in 2002, ruling that Mr. Sheikh's temporary detention was illegal.
The U.S State Department condemned this ruling, stating that it had been assured that the accused had not been released "at this time", adding that "We continue to honour Daniel Pearl's legacy as a courageous journalist."
Suspects Omar Saeed Sheikh and others were detained by authorities under Section 11 EEEE (preventive detention for inquiry) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
In a separate case, the Sindh government and Daniel Pearl's family have appealed against the Sindh court's April decision in the country's Supreme Court.
The court ordered to place the names of the accused on the no-fly list
Petitioner’s lawyer told the court that the government issued a notification regarding the detention of the accused after their acquittal under the MPO without giving any plausible reason