The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday rejected the pre-arrest bail petition of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, main accused in the case of murder of Wall Street Journal South Asia Bureau Chief Daniel Pearl, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Tariq Masood, rejected the petition due to the non-perusal of the case by Omar’s lawyer.
The petitioner, who remained a member of the militant group Harkat-ul-Ansar or Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in the 1990s, and later of Jaish-e-Mohammed and was also closely associated with Al-Qaeda, had moved the SC against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) verdict.
Omar came into contact with Pearl when the latter approached him for seeking information about Pakistan’s militant groups after the September 11 attacks and in the wake of the US invasion of Afghanistan.
The two exchanged several emails, according to police, as Pearl sought introductions to militant leaders.
This led to Pearl's visit to Karachi in January 2002 where he was allegedly kidnapped by Omar.
Omar was arrested in February 2002. A week later, a video depicting Pearl's gruesome decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in Karachi.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori