Pakistan Court commuted the death sentence of Omar Sheikh

The Sindh High Court of Pakistan commuted the death sentence of Omar Sheikh, a British born militant, known for his role in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

About the Incident

American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped from Karachi, Pakistan in January of 2002. He was then working on Pakistan’s terror groups that had links to Al Qaeda. He was beheaded several days later. The incident resulted in the arrest and conviction of several militants including Sheikh.

Daniel Pearl

Daniel Pearl was the South Asian bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, based in Mumbai. He was working on the US’ War on Terror during the post-9/11 period. In his memory, the Daniel Pearl Foundation was established in 2002. The foundation’s objective is to promote ‘cross-cultural understanding’ through music, journalism and dialogue.

Omar Sheikh

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was a British born militant convicted in the Pearl case. He was one of the 3 terrorists who had been released in 2000 during the IC 814 hijacking incident in India. Though he was convicted for both the kidnapping and murder of Pearl, a 2011 ICIJ report cast doubts and the murder was believed to have been done by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.