Police claim tightening noose on Daniel’s kidnappers | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Police claim tightening noose on Daniel’s kidnappers

KARACHI- Interrogating Shaikh Muhammad Omar, the prime suspect in Wall Street Journal’s correspondent Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping case, the police investigators on Friday claimed that they have finally identified direction of investigations and have picked up some more suspects, insiders revealed Thursday.

“We have conducted more raids in various parts of the megapolis on Thursday and netted another bunch of his (Omar’s) possible associates. Now we have 29 suspects in total and the process of scrutiny, we have launched on Wednesday was in the final stages,” said one of the investigators, involved in interrogating Omar.

“And now I can say that finally we have identified the direction in which to move more forward. Earlier he (Omar) was trying to dodge us by saying that he does not know about the hierarchy of his own group as most of them were functioning with fake or false names, but we have succeeded in identifying them,” the source claimed.

“And I have also told the bosses as well that now we can say we are more close to getting the kidnappers’ clue. I am not making claims but I am hopeful now that the case would be resolved and we would be able to bust the entire network,” the officer claimed.

Another official, who was involved in the interrogations, had claimed on Wednesday that the police have picked up some 16 to 18 suspects. When contacted on Thursday he endorsed the claims of his colleague, adding, “During Thursday raids we have picked up another 13 suspects, who could be the possible associates of Omar,” he added.

“Earlier, our success appeared faint, but during the course of interrogations I grew a little positive that the case would not only be resolved but would be resolved in very a professional manner,” he added. “But it was also true that during my years-long career as a police official, I have never seen such a man as Omar. He has the steeliest nerves I know of. With the help of his personal qualities, qualifications, power of speech and patience, he can dodge anyone around, even the most qualified personnel of US law-enforcing agencies and well-trained investigators of FBI or CIA as well,” he added.

“We have got some more clues through some of our independent sources and networks and these will also help us in this case,” another senior official of the Capital City Police force opined. Shaikh Omar has been suspected for abducting Wall Street Journal’s reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi on Jan 23. The police on Tuesday last arrested him in Lahore and shifted him the same day to Karachi.

Omar was released from Indian custody along with Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder leader of now outlawed Jaish-e-Muhammad, and Mushtaque Zargar in consideration of 155 passengers of an Indian Airliner hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanisatn. Daniel Pearl, 38, was last seen around Metropole Hotel in Southern post part of the city on January 23 last and since then he went missing.
Source: The News
Date:2/15/2002