Daniel Pearl Murder: US 'Deeply Concerned' As Pakistan Court Orders Release Of Terrorists Who Killed The Journalist

As per reports, Pearl was investigating a story on the links between the country's powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.

UNDATED PHOTO: This undated photo shows Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal newspaper reporter kidnapped by Islamic militants in Karachi, Pakistan. The Wall Street Journal announced February 21, 2002 that Pearl has been confirmed dead, presumably murdered by his abductors. The British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death July 15, 2002 by a Pakistani court for the kidnap and death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Three accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment. (Photo by Getty Images)

Daniel Pearl: The United States has expressed a deep concern over Pakistan Court’s order releasing the accused in Daniel Pearl murder case. The State Department of the United States, in a series of tweet, said it was deeply concerned at the reports of the Sindh High Court’s ruling to release the “multiple terrorists” involved in killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl. “We are deeply concerned by the reports of the December 24 ruling of Sindh High Court to release multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl. We have been assured that the accused have not been released at this time,” it said in a tweet. “We understand that this case is ongoing and will be following closely. We continue to stand with the Pearl family through this extremely difficult process. We continue to honor Daniel Pearl’s legacy as a courageous journalist,” it said. Four terrorists including British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides, prime accused in the abduction and murder case of Daniel Pearl. They would walk out of the prison on Saturday, after their release was ordered by court on Thursday. Sheikh and his aides -- Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil- were convicted and sentenced in the case, however, on Thursday a two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court, directed the security agencies not to keep them under any sort of detention and declared all notifications of the government related to their detention as null and void. The court observed that the four men's detention was "illegal". Who was Daniel Pearl & What happened with him in Pakistan? Daniel Pearl was the South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. In the year 2002, Pearl was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan for investigating a story. As per reports, Pearl was investigating a story on the links between the country's powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda. Pearl's murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was released by India in 1999 and given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814. He was serving a prison term in India for kidnappings of Western tourists in the country