British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides - the main accused in the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl – will remain in jail for another three months, according to an order issued by Pakistan’s Sindh government on Wednesday.
The announcement of extending their detention was made by prosecutors during a hearing of the Supreme Court, which was to decide on Sheikh’s release. The apex court last week barred the government from releasing them.
Faisal Siddiqi, the lawyer representing Pearl’s family, told the media that the government prosecutor, Fiaz Shah, told the judges he needed more time for paperwork to prepare for the case. The court accepted his argument and adjourned the hearing till October 21. In April, a two-judge Sindh High Court bench commuted the death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh, who was convicted in the abduction and murder of Pearl in 2002, to seven years.