Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with the family of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl, and assured them that the US government remains committed to pursuing justice and accountability for those involved in his kidnapping and murder in Pakistan.
Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country’s powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.
“Blinken spoke with members of the family of Daniel Pearl and their representatives today to assure them that the US government remains committed to pursuing justice and accountability for those involved in Daniel’s kidnapping and murder,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Friday.
Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court criticised the prosecution for its failure to prove the guilt of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the main accused in the sensational kidnapping and murder of Pearl in 2002.
His murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief (JeM) Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was released by India in 1999 and given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814.
The beheading of the American journalist in 2002 had grabbed international headlines
Sheikh and his three aides - Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib - were convicted and sentenced in the abduction and murder case of Pearl in Karachi in 2002.
The Sindh High Court on April 2, 2020 commuted the death sentence of Sheikh convicted of kidnapping and murdering US journalist Pearl in 2002 to seven years and acquitted three others who were serving life terms in the case – almost two decades after they were found guilty and jailed.
The Supreme Court on January 28 ordered authorities to release the accused while issuing a split order.
It ordered that three others, who had been sentenced to life in prison for their part in Pearl’s kidnapping and death, also be freed.