The White House has expressed “outrage” that Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter, was acquitted by a panel of three judges.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the decision “an affront to terror victims everywhere” and said Washington is “committed to securing justice for Daniel Pearl’s family.”

RELATED STORIES

At her daily briefing, Psaki called on the Pakistani government to quickly review legal options, including letting the United States prosecute those acquitted.

The Pakistani court decision comes at a sensitive time in US-Pakistani relations as new President Joe Biden’s administration reviews Afghanistan’s peace process in which Pakistan is a key player.

SC ORDERS RELEASE OF SHEIKH:

The Supreme Court dismissed a series of appeals against the acquittal of the British-born militant convicted of masterminding the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, paving the way for his release.

“The court has come out to say that there is no offence that he has committed in this case,” Mahmood Sheikh, who represented Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, told AFP.

The three-judge bench directed authorities to release Sheikh who was sentenced to death for his role in the plot.

During the hearing, the Sindh advocate general told the court that the prime suspect has links to banned outfits. He added that the Sindh government submitted sensitive information to the top court in a sealed envelope. At this, the court responded that the evidence submitted by the authorities in the case was not enough to convict Sheikh.

In a dramatic turn of events on Wednesday, Sheik admitted a “minor” role in the death of Pearl. That testimony was at odds with 18 years of denial about his involvement in the killing.

A letter handwritten by the accused in 2019, in which he admits limited involvement in the death, was submitted to Pakistan’s Supreme Court nearly two weeks earlier.

Last month, the United States government had also issued a statement expressing concerns over the acquittal of Sheikh by the Sindh High Court.

“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,” said the State Department in a series of tweets in response to the ruling of the high court.