LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The sister of American journalist Daniel Pearl has said Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, the British-born Pakistani convicted for her brother’s 2002 kidnapping and beheading, was the mastermind behind the plot, “no matter what any court said.”
On Thursday, in a decision that has stunned the United States government, the Pearl family and journalism advocacy groups, all four men originally arrested and charged with Pearl’s abduction and murder were ordered free by the Pakistani Supreme Court.
The court also dismissed separate appeals against Sheikh’s acquittal filed by Pearl’s family and the provincial government of Pakistan’s Sindh province.
“We all know that Omar Saeed Sheikh was the mastermind of Danny’s kidnapping,” Tamara Pearl told Arab News on Friday. “His lies lured Danny into an interview in Karachi on January 23, 2002 and a month later Danny was dead. Three months later his body was found in an unmarked grave. This is the truth, no matter what any court says.”
“The defendants in this court case and the justices who acquitted them know that this is the truth, but the lies continue,” Pearl’s sister said. “Neither verdict would have brought Danny back but lies are corrosive. We trust that somehow truth will prevail.”
In 2002, just months after his arrest, Sheikh was sentenced to death and three other suspects to life in prison for their roles in the plot to kill Pearl. Last April, however, a lower court acquitted them in a shocking turn in the 18-year-old case.
The acquittal was appealed separately in the Supreme Court by Pearl’s family and the Sindh government. Both appeals were rejected on Thursday by a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, that also ordered Sheikh be released.
Late on Thursday, the Pakistan government, through the office of the attorney general, said it fully supported the Sindh government with regards the Pearl case and would file at the earliest a “petition seeking review and recall of the order of acquittal passed by the Supreme Court.”
The White House has also expressed outrage over the Supreme Court’s order, with spokeswoman Jen Psaki calling the decision “an affront to terror victims everywhere” and saying Washington was “committed to securing justice for Daniel Pearl’s family.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States recognized past Pakistani actions to hold Sheikh accountable and appreciated that he currently remained detained under Pakistani law.
“We take note of the Attorney General’s statement that he intends to seek review and recall of the decision,” Blinken said in a statement. “We are also prepared to prosecute Sheikh in the United States for his horrific crimes against an American citizen.”
But Sheikh’s lawyer told Arab News there was no chance his client could be extradited to the US or tried there.
“Under what provision they [US] want him [Sheikh] extradited, for what offense and on what charge,” said Mahmood A. Sheikh, who is not related to his client. “This is not a trial which was done behind the back of the US government. The US participated in this trial by sending a contingent of FBI officers to Pakistan who along with the police investigated the case. They appeared as witnesses in the trial court.”
He also said there could be no “double jeopardy” under Pakistani law.
“If a person has been acquitted or convicted after a due trial in Pakistan, he cannot be charged and tried for that offense again,” the lawyer said. “Similar provision is available in the US constitution ... So the United States government may have a desire and wish to lay its hands on this person, but this won’t happen.”
“The Pakistan government will honor its own constitution,” the lawyer said, “and will not enter into any scheme to defeat the fundamental rights of its own citizens.”
On Wednesday, Sheikh’s lawyer had admitted that his client had written a letter telling a court that he played a “minor” role in Pearl’s killing. The letter was submitted to Pakistan’s Supreme Court nearly two weeks ago but it wasn’t until Wednesday this week that Sheikh’s lawyer confirmed his client wrote it.
The three-page letter addressed to the Sindh High Court does not elaborate or say exactly what Sheikh’s alleged “minor” role in Pearl’s slaying was.
Omar Sheikh masterminded my brother’s kidnapping, truth will prevail — Daniel Pearl’s sister
https://arab.news/rnkux
Omar Sheikh masterminded my brother’s kidnapping, truth will prevail — Daniel Pearl’s sister
- Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Sheikh who was convicted in the 2002 beheading of the American journalist
- Pakistan government says will file at the earliest a "petition seeking review and recall of order of acquittal passed by the Supreme Court"
Pakistan committee discusses development of border areas in inaugural session
- The committee was formed to devise comprehensive strategies for holistic development in Pakistan’s border regions
- Key topics that came under discussion at the inaugural session included tariff rationalization, employment creation
ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee tasked with development of Pakistan’s border regions on Saturday held its inaugural session in Islamabad to discuss the challenges facing communities based in the country’s frontier regions, the Pakistani commerce ministry said.
The inaugural session of the committee, which was formed to devise comprehensive strategies for holistic development in these areas, was presided over by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, according to the ministry.
Key topics that came under discussion at the meeting included tariff rationalization and employment creation, reflecting the committee’s commitment to addressing border communities’ challenges.
“The committee aims to present its recommendations to the Prime Minister within 10 days, signaling a promising start to collaborative efforts for socio-economic development in the region,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan shares a long, porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, with people live along it relying on cross-border trade with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies or prohibitions.
Islamabad last year announced restrictions on the informal trade to discourage smuggling of goods and currency in order to support the country’s dwindling economy.
Pakistan’s trade with China mostly takes place through formal channels, while the country’s trade ties with India, another neighbor it shares border with, remain suspended since 2019 over the disputed region of Kashmir.
Pakistan records ‘wettest April’ in more than 60 years — weather agency
- Pakistan’s metrology department says April rainfall was recorded at 59.3 millimeters, ‘excessively above’ the normal average of 22.5 millimeters
- There were at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses due to heavy rains in what the report said was the ‘wettest April since 1961’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan experienced its “wettest April since 1961,” receiving more than twice as much rain as usual for the month, the country’s weather agency said in a report.
April rainfall was recorded at 59.3 millimeters, “excessively above” the normal average of 22.5 millimeters, Pakistan’s metrology department said late Friday in its monthly climate report.
There were at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses due to heavy rains in what the report said was the “wettest April since 1961.”
Pakistan is increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable weather, as well as often destructive monsoon rains that usually arrive in July.
In the summer of 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost the country $30 billion in damage and economic losses, according to a World Bank estimate.
“Climate change is a major factor that is influencing the erratic weather patterns in our region,” Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said while commenting on the report.
While much of Asia is sweltering dure to heat waves, Pakistan’s national monthly temperature for April was 23.67 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) 0.87 degrees lower than the average of 24.54, the report noted.
Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported
- The biggest Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually
- In November last year, a blaze at a shopping mall in Karachi killed around a dozen people and injured several others
KARACHI: A fire broke out at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Saturday, rescue officials said.
The blaze erupted on the ground floor of the garment factory in Zarina Colony in the New Karachi area, according to Rescue 1122 service.
“One fire truck is actively participating in the operation,” a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding that another fire tender has been called to the site.
No loss of life has been reported in the wake of the fire.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country.
The megapolis, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually.
In Nov., a blaze at a shopping mall killed around a dozen people and injured several others. In April last year, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out at a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021.
In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.
Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces
- Nominations come as part of power-sharing deal between PM Sharif’s party and ex-FM Bhutto-Zardari-led faction
- According to the deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for constitutional positions
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, has nominated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi as governors of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the PPP chairman announced on Friday.
The PPP forged an alliance with PM Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after Pakistan’s national election on February 8 failed to present a clear winner.
According to the power-sharing deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for the presidency, chairman of Senate and other important constitutional positions.
In a post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Khan and Kundi, and extended his good wishes to them
“I am confident they [Khan and Kundi] will perform their duties with the dignity their new office demands,” he said on X.
In Pakistan, a governor is a representative of the state to a province, who is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
Such positions may seem ceremonial and symbolic, but they do hold significant constitutional importance.
At present, PML-N’s Balighur Rehman has been serving as the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Hajji Ghulam Ali holds the post in KP.
Bhutto-Zardari also called on PM Sharif in Islamabad, following the nominations, Pakistani state media reported.
“During the meeting, views were exchanged on overall political situation in the country and matters of national interest,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster said.
Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour
- The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia in Nov.
- The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced details of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa for three Twenty20, three one-day international and two Test matches in the second half of 2024.
Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14, according to the PCB. The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, while the two ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 matches will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).
The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia on November 19, having featured in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4-18. After completing their African safari on January 8, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
“Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively,” the PCB said in a statement. “This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.”
This will be Pakistan’s seventh Test tour of South Africa since 1994-95. Their two Test wins were in the 1997-98 and 2006-2007 series.
In the Durban Test in 1997-98, Pakistan won by 29 runs at the back of centuries from Azhar Mahmood (132) and Saeed Anwar (118), match figures of nine for 149 by Mushtaq Ahmed and a first innings five-fer by Shoaib Akhtar. In the 2006-2007 Port Elizabeth Test, Pakistan won by five wickets with Inzamam-ul-Haq being named as Player of the Match for his 92 in the first innings.
In ODIs, Pakistan has won two of the last three series in 2013-2014 and 2020-21, while South Africa triumphed in 2002-2003 (4-1), 2006-2007 (3-1), 2012-2013 (3-2), and 2018-2019 (3-2).
In 12 T20Is to date, Pakistan leads 6-5 in head-to-head encounters, with one match ending in no-result.
Tour schedule:
10 Dec – 1st T20I, Durban
13 Dec – 2nd T20I, Centurion
14 Dec – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg
17 Dec – 1st ODI, Paarl
19 Dec – 2nd ODI, Cape Town
22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg
26-30 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion
3-7 Jan – 2nd Test, Cape Town
