9/11 Suspect Accused In Pearl Murder

Pakistani President: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Helped Kill WSJ Reporter

(AP) 
On Wednesday, Rai Bashir, lawyer for British-born Pakistani Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, said he will petition the Sindh High Court in Karachi within 10 days to let him introduce Musharraf's book as evidence in his client's appeal, which began in January 2003.

Sheikh and three other Islamic militants were convicted in July 2002 of killing Pearl. All have since appealed.

Bashir said he will try to use Musharraf's book to highlight contradictions in the prosecution's case against Sheikh, who has been sentenced to death. He declined to elaborate.

It was unclear if U.S. authorities would bring charges against Mohammed over Pearl's killing. A representative for Pearl's family declined to comment.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. government had evidence relating to Musharraf's assertion.

"We believe that it would be better and more appropriate to offer such evidence in the context of a military tribunal," McCormack said. "We hope, as the U.S. government that, once we do get legislation that governs those military tribunals, that we can be in a position to offer up evidence related to that (Musharraf's) assertion."

The Bush administration and the Congress are working on new procedures to interrogate suspects in the war on terrorism following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the previous system of military trials.

Bashir said Musharraf referred to two men never charged in the Pearl killing — Mohammed and another detained militant suspect, Fazal Karim.

Musharraf alleged in his memoir that Mohammed, a joint Pakistani-Kuwaiti citizen, admitted after being captured to participating in Pearl's killing.

Musharraf also recounted the May 2002 arrest of Karim, an activist from the al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, who led investigators to Pearl's body and admitted to being involved in his killing.

Musharraf wrote that police had asked how Karim knew where Pearl's body was buried.

"Chillingly, he replied — without remorse — that he knew because he had actually participated in the slaughter by holding one of Pearl's legs," Musharraf wrote.

But Karim told police that he did not know the name of Pearl's actual killer, only that he was "Arab-looking."

At the time, police identified Karim as one of the men who located Pearl's body. However, the police officially refused to confirm details and never charged him in the murder.

Karim disappeared shortly after leading investigators to Pearl's shallow grave. In April 2003, he surfaced in a small-town jail charged with possessing outlawed drugs. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Karim's lawyer, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, questioned why his client was not charged in Pearl's murder despite "incriminating evidence" disclosed in Musharraf's book.

Musharraf detailed in his book how Sheikh plotted to kidnap Pearl, who was in Pakistan researching a story on Islamic militancy, by making the journalist believe he had arranged an interview with a militant leader in Karachi. Pearl was kidnapped the day he arrived in Karachi, and his remains were found Feb. 21, 2002.

[drgoodwin12]

I am not stating that Pearls death was humane. I am stating that it seems odd that a prisoner at Guantanamo could mastermind a plot that took place two years after his arrest. If he can pull that off from Guantanamo then we have a serious problem at Guantanamo.Musharaff signed a peace treaty with the Taliban/Al queda and attacks against coalition forces have tripled. How beleivable is Musharaff and how trustworthy?You neo cons think that just because someone is a democrat that they are soft on terror.After 9/11 I would have nuked Afghanistan.Then all of the problems except those in Iraq that we created would have disappeared.Have you taken the time to read that 63% of Iraqis want to kill Americans.Bush has blundered going into Iraq and leaving Afghansitan behind.The NIE report states that Iraq has become the cause celebre for terrorist.We screwed their country up and now we have to fix it,that does not mean stay the course or cut and run.

[drgoodwin12]

Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
and then Musharaff states Musharraf also wrote that Mohammed helped lay the groundwork for the London subway bombings on July 7, 2005, and a plot to attack Heathrow Airport with hijacked passenger planes.Who is Musharaff sucking up to G.W.,it is unimaginable that someone in prison at Guatanomo in 2003 could plan an attack with local British islamist in 2005.

[tomflint69]

Musharaf is the only army general I have seen who is sincere to humans; good for his own country and for us.