KARACHI, 4 March 2005 — Father of a convicted killer, Sheikh Omar, yesterday said he was in “high spirits” as his appeal resumed at a Pakistan court. Sheikh Omar has been sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
“I have met my son recently and he is in high spirits despite so many years in jail,” Ahmed Saeed, father of British-born Sheikh Omar, said outside the Sindh High Court in the southern city of Karachi. Saeed, who lives in London and has traveled to Pakistan for the hearing, declined to speak further.
Omar was convicted and given the death penalty for his alleged involvement in the US journalist’s death by an anti-terrorism court in June 2002. His appeal has been pending for over two years. Relatives of three other men appealing against life sentences linked to the Pearl case — Salman Saqib, Sheikh Adil and Fahd Naseem — also attended the hearing, and silently witnessed the court proceedings amid tight security.
Sheikh Omar and his three fellow convicts were not in court. It was the second session of the hearing at Sindh High Court. The next is due today. Sheikh Omar’s lawyer Abdul Waheed Katpar told reporters that his client was not guilty of the brutal killing.
“I am trying to prove in the appeal that my client is innocent and was not involved in Pearl’s kidnapping or murder,” Katpar said.
Pearl disappeared in Karachi on Jan. 23, 2002 while investigating militancy in Pakistan. A gruesome video showing his decapitation was delivered to the US Consulate in the city nearly a month later and it took police until May 2002 to find his body.
“I argued that Omar’s link with Pearl’s murder was not proved in the video, which showed his slaying. No one knows who was the author of this video and this evidence can not be admissible,” Katpar said.
Pakistan to Free Over 900 Indians
In a goodwill gesture to boost the peace process between the nuclear rivals, Pakistan has decided in principle to release more than 900 Indian fishermen and civilians held for illegal entry, an official said in Islamabad yesterday.
President Pervez Musharraf has recommended that 800 Indian fishermen held in Pakistani jails for crossing into its waters should be freed after completing legal formalities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said.
Musharraf has also ordered the release of 31 Indian Sikhs after an appeal by visiting communist leaders from the neighboring South Asian country, Jilani said.
In addition to the Sikhs and the fishermen, another 118 detained Indian civilians are to be released soon “on humanitarian grounds” once the Indian government confirms their nationalities and travel documents, Jilani added. — Additional input from AFP.
