In call with Qureshi, Blinken discusses Daniel Pearl case

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has spoken over phone with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the accountability of convicted terrorists responsible for the brutal murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, according to the state department.

Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country’s powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.

State department spokesperson Ned Price said on Friday that Blinken reinforced America’s concern over Pakistan Supreme Court’s ruling acquitting Pearl’s killers. “Blinken and Qureshi discussed how to ensure accountability for convicted terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and others responsible for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl,” Price said in a readout of the call.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that the two leaders discussed “recent developments in the Daniel Pearl case” and Qureshi “underscored that it was important and in the mutual interest that justice is served through legal means.”

Expressing concern over the acquittal of those involved in the brutal murder of Daniel Pearl in 2002, a senior UN official representing Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said it is important that there is accountability for such crimes.

Responding to a question on Sheikh’s acquittal, spokesman for the UN chief Stephane Dujarric said on Friday: “What is important that there be accountability for those crimes committed.”

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed appeals against the acquittal of Britishborn al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Sheikh in the kidnapping and murder case of Pearl and ordered his release, a judgement denounced by the journalist’s family as “a complete travesty of justice.” The apex court cleared Sheikh and his three Pakistani accomplices in the case of all the charges, ordering that Sheikh and others be immediately freed from jail.

The US has been mounting pressure on Pakistan, demanding justice for Pearl.