Omar’s remand extended in Daniel case
KARACHI- Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, prime suspect in the Daniel Pearl case, told the court on Tuesday that if he is killed in a fake encounter at the behest of the US, America would suffer.
He claimed that if he is extradited to that US, it would return him the same way as India had done. He made this statement when the prosecution obtained extension in his police remand “as a last chance” for another 10 days until March 22 from Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court, who is also administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts in Karachi.
Amid tight security, Ahmed Omar Shaikh and Shaikh Adil were brought to the court handcuffed, with their faces muffled, in an armoured personnel carrier at 1pm. Two other accused Fahad Nasim and Salman Saqib were earlier remanded to judicial custody by a judicial magistrate after recording their confessional statements.
The police have made out a case under sections 365/A/302/109/34 Pakistan Panel Code (PPC) First Information Report (FIR) 24/2002 read with 7 (a) 8 (a) (b) (c) 11/A (a) (b) (c) 6 (2) (a) (b) (c) (e) (f), 11/H (324) 11/V (1) (a) (b) (2) 11/L (a) (b) 6/7 A (b) (c) (e) 11/ H-2/ (a) 2(b) 11/w (1) (2) 17 ATA.
The names of absconding accused are Amjad Hussain Farooqi alias Hyder Farooqi alias Hasan Mansoor, Asim alias Qasim, Hashim alias Arif, Hasan, Imtiaz Siddiqui, Ahmed Bhai and an unknown person who took photographs of Daniel Pearl in captivity and sent them through e-mail to the international media.
The two accused were taken to the chambers of the administrative judge where advocate-general Sindh, Raja Qureshi, representing the state, sought further remand of the accused on the premise that further investigation is required to be done. Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Investigations-II Manzoor Mughal and investigating officer were also present.
Khwaja Naveed Ahmed, counsel of Shaikh Adil, told reporters later that he opposed the extension plea on the ground that in the circumstances of the present case, Section 19(5) of the ATA ordinance was not applicable for extension in remand.
His contention was that the prosecution had not produced any charge-sheet. He said that Omar filed an application before the administrative judge seeking permission to meet anyone of his family member, on which the court issued notice to AG Sindh for March 16.
The administrative judge of the ATC also asked the AG Sindh to provide further evidence for justifying the extension in police remand. Justice Shabbir Ahmed adjourned the matter for 10 minutes.
Raja Qureshi told reporters that he contended before Justice Shabbir Ahmed that experts’ evidence from the FBI is to be secured and weapons of offence are also to be secured.
He further informed the administrative judge that till the date confessional statements of the accused had been recorded, identification parade had been held and the petition of the accused (Omar) had been disposed of by a division bench of the High Court on the stand taken on behalf of the state that if and when a decision is taken to extradite him (Omar), it would be done without contravention of the law of the land.
He further submitted that hand-writing expert’s opinion had already been obtained, whereas video cassette was under examination by the experts and arrests of the absconding accused were yet to be made.
Raja Qureshi stated that accused persons have been operating in different names and identities, which are required to be ascertained in the process of investigation. The AG Sindh submitted that absconding accused possessed National Identification Cards (NICs’) under four names and, therefore, their arrest was a difficult task.
While recording the order of remand, Justice Ahmed extended the remand up to March 22 as a last chance. The Administrative Judge further recorded the statement of the AG on apprehension expressed by the accused that he shall only be extradited if and when decided to be handed over to some officer or authorities of a foreign country, and they he shall be delivered without contravention to law of the land.
Justice Ahmed also recorded the statement of the accused in the order of remand to the effect that “if he is extradited, America will return him the same way as India had returned him and ‘America will suffer if I am killed in false encounter at their behest’. As a last chance, police remand is extended up to March 22, 2002”.
Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl went missing on Jan 23 in Karachi and on Feb 22, it was announced that he was dead, after a videotape containing scenes of his killing were received by the authorities.
On Feb 25, when the prime suspect and others were produced before the administrative judge, he had extended their police remand till March 12.
Prime suspect Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and two others had told the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court that the police had forcibly obtained their signatures on blank papers.
Salman Saqib, Fahad and Adil Shaikh, who have been linked with the high profile kidnapping case of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl, were arrested in Gulistan-i-Johar for their alleged involvement in sending some E-mail messages containing abducted journalist’s pictures in captivity, allegedly on the instruction of prime suspect Shaikh Omar Saeed.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/13/2002
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