ISLAMABAD, FEB 01 (DNA) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Monday extended the detention order of the accused in the US journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder case by one day.

The apex court, while hearing the plea against the detention of the accused, summoned complete record of the case from Sindh High Court (SHC) and adjourned the hearing till Tuesday. Earlier, Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on last Thursday ordered to release accused in case of murder of journalist Daniel Pearl

Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam dismissed the petition of the Sindh government against Sindh High Court (SHC) decision to overturn the conviction of accused. 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 Daniel Pearl – an American journalist.

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. Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil were the co-accused. Ahmed Omer Sheikh, the main accused, is a British national.

The SHC remarked that the kidnapping case is proven against Ahmed Omer Sheikh while the murder accusations have not been proven against any of the suspects. The Sindh government on last Friday has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of the men accused of murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl. The petition was filed against the January 28 decision of the apex court.

The federal government has decided to become a party in Sindh government’s review appeal against the acquittal of the accused in the Daniel Pearl case. According to the spokesperson of the Attorney General, the federal government will soon file a petition against the decision and will also seek the formation of a larger bench for the appeal.

All legal steps would be taken in collaboration with the Sindh government to ensure the provision of justice, the AG office said. = DNA

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