Daniel Pearl case: Allegations against Ahmed Sheikh could not be proved, says SC

Daniel Pearl case: Allegations against Ahmed Sheikh could not be proved, says SC

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a detailed verdict in the Daniel Pearl murder case in which it said that the charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to murder against Ahmed Omar Sheikh could not be proved.

The detailed verdict said that the prosecution failed to prove the murder with evidence, presenting a policeman as a witness taxi driver who was not even shown a photo to identify the victim.

The Supreme Court in its judgment said that even if the handcuffed accused confessed to the crime, it had no value. The perpetrators could not be identified in the video of the murder. The original video of the murder, which could have been forensically investigated, was deliberately hidden from the police.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the family of Daniel Pearl caused flaws in the investigation. His wife hid emails carrying threats to kill him, his life was in danger but his wife remained silent for 12 days. The FIR did not mention the emails and neither did Pearl’s wife become involved in the investigation.

The decision says the story presented by the prosecution was rife with doubts however it was not the courts’ job to rectify investigative flaws. 

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam had dismissed the petition of the Sindh government against Sindh High Court (SHC) decision to overturn the conviction of accused. Justice Yahya Afridi disagreed with the ruling of the three-member bench.

Sindh High Court had commuted the death sentence of prime suspect Ahmed Omer Sheikh to seven years in prison in abduction and murder case of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Justice KK Agha and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi issued verdict on appeals, lodged by the suspects against their sentences, after 18 years and acquitted the other three accused in the case who had been handed over life terms earlier.