PAK SC RELEASES KEY CONVICT IN DANIEL PEARL MURDER CASE

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Omar Saeed Sheikh, one of three terrorists freed by India in 1999 in exchange for a hijacked airliner who was later convicted of beheading journalist Daniel Pearl. A three-judge bench dismissed an appeal against the overturning of his conviction for the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter.

The court that it was acquitting Sheikh by “extending the benefit of doubt”. India said the development is “a travesty of justice” and reflected Pakistan’s lax attitude towards prosecuting terrorists.