WASHINGTON: The United States said on Wednesday that it was “alarmed” by the Supreme Court’s order to move Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the prime accused in the 2002 Daniel Pearl slaying case, from his death cell to a government rest house.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed authorities to move Sheikh from his death cell at the Karachi Central Prison to a government rest house.

The verbal order also requires the state to place his family at a rest house with transportation facilities, while the government has been directed to arrange his shifting from the jail within a couple of days. The court also ordered authorities to keep Sheikh in Karachi and not to allow him to communicate with the outside world.

In Washington, a spokesperson for the US State Department told journalists the United States remained “deeply concerned by developments” in the cases of those involved in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

“We are alarmed by the recent order to move Sheikh and his co-conspirators from prison,” the spokesperson added.

The US official recalled that on Jan 29, US State Secretary Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi discussed “how to ensure accountability for convicted terrorist Omar Sheikh and others responsible for the kidnapping and murder of US citizen and journalist Daniel Pearl”.

The State Department’s spokesperson claimed that the court’s decisions “represent an affront to terrorism victims everywhere, including in Pakistan” but also appreciated Islamabad’s efforts to ensure that those involved in the slaying were held accountable for their actions.

“The US recognises past Pakistani actions to hold Sheikh accountable and to seek to ensure that he and his co-conspirators remain in custody,” the official said. “We also acknowledge government requests for a review of the split Jan 28 decision.”

On Jan 28, the Supreme Court — by a majority of two to one — upheld the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) acquittal of Sheikh and ordered his release if he was not wanted in any other case.

The court also directed that all the accused — Sheikh, Fahad Nasim Ahmed, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh Muhammad Adil — be released forthwith unless they were wanted in any other case.

The Sindh government and parents of the slain journalist appealed the high court’s decision, but the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal order.

Reviewing the recent developments in the case, the US State Department urged the Pakistani government to continue its effort to keep Sheikh and other suspects in custody.

“We expect the Pakistani government to expeditiously review its legal options to ensure justice is served and Sheikh and his co-conspirators are not released,” the department’s spokesperson said.

The official also reiterated an earlier offer by Secretary Blinken and the US Justice Department to prosecute Sheikh in the United States, adding: “We are also prepared to prosecute Sheikh in the US for his horrific crimes against the country’s citizens,” the official said.

Pearl, 38, was doing research on religious extremism in Karachi when he was abducted in January 2002. Later, a graphic video showing his decapitation was delivered to the US Consulate a month after his abduction. Subsequently, Sheikh, a British Pakistani suspect, was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to death by the trial court.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2021