KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday declared “null and void” the detention of the prime suspect in the murder of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded in 2002. In its verdict, the court ordered the immediate release of Sheikh and other suspects but said their names be added to the Exit Control List (ECL). Pearl, 38, the South Asia bureau chief for the publication, was abducted on January 23, 2002, in Karachi and beheaded the next month, reportedly by Al-Qaeda. Sheikh had been convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in Karachi in which he was kidnapped. However, all four convicts had moved the SHC in 2002 challenging their convictions.

Source: Pakistan Today December 24, 2020 08:54 UTC