US deeply concerned by Pak court ruling to release Daniel Pearl's killers

The United States on Thursday expressed deep concerns over the Sindh High Court ruling to release multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of American journalist Del Pearl.

The Sindh High Court on Thursday has directed to release terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib, the accused in the abduction and murder case of US journalist Del Pearl.

According to Daily Pakistan, the Sindh High Court also ordered putting the names of accused Ahmed Omer Saeed Shaikh and others in the exit control list (ECL).

The accused have been in jail for the last 18 years and ordered the accused to appear as and when the court summons them.

"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 Del Pearl. We have been assured that the accused have not been released at this time," the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the US State Department tweeted.

"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 Del Pearl's legacy as a courageous journalist," it added.

In 2002, Pearl, the 38-year-old journalist of The Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story of terror groups' links to Al Qaeda.

( With inputs from ANI )

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