HYDERABAD- Hearing in the kidnapping and murder case of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Daniel Pearl was adjourned until Monday after brief arguments, as the defence counsel of three co-accused did not appear in the court while the defence prepared to appeal to the Supreme Court (SC) against the shifting of the trial venue.
The judge said all other cases pending in his court have been held in abeyance because the Daniel Pearl case would be heard on a regular basis. Anti Terrorist Courts (ATC) Hyderabad Judge Ali Ashraf Shah took up the case in the Central Prison, Hyderabad. Advocate General Sindh Raja Qureshi brought four witnesses in a big convoy of vehicles for their testimony and cross-examination by the defence counsel.
Abdul Waheed Katpar and Hassan Imam advocate, the defence counsel of Sheikh Umar, appeared in the court while other defence counsel Khawaja Naveed and Rai Bashir failed to arrive in Hyderabad. As ATC Judge Ali Ashraf Shah appeared in the court, the hearing started and Raja Qureshi pleaded for recording the statements of four witnesses, who had arrived from Karachi with him.
However, Katpar told newsmen outside the premises of the Central Prison that he had raised the objection that in the absence of the defence counsel of three co-accused in the same case, their statements cannot be recorded as per the law. He said he pleaded that the actual date of hearing is May 6, which was fixed by the trial court ATC Karachi, headed by Judge Abdul Ghafoor Memon. Katpar said the Sindh High Courts (SHC), while ordering the shifting of the venue of the trial, had also fixed May 6 as resumption date for hearing, but we are here in the court just to comply with its orders.
Raja Qureshi agreed to his contention that in the absence of defence counsel of three co-accused, statements of witnesses cannot be recorded, Katpar added. He also informed the journalists that the families of three co-accused have disengaged Khawaja Naveed advocate in the case, but the name of a new lawyer could not be known.
The families of all four accused, namely Sheikh Umar, Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Adil Sheikh are challenging the decision of the Sindh High Court (SHC), regarding the shifting of the accused along with their case to the Central Prison Hyderabad, in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Saturday or Monday, he said.
We are pleading the case in Supreme Court about the shifting of the venue of the trial court, he said. If we are terrorists then the changed venue is not out of the reach of the terrorists, Katpar remarked. We expect positive outcome from the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Katpar added. He said Barrister Jameel of Karachi has filed the papers in court, on behalf of Daniel Pearl’s widow Mariana Pearl, currently staying in France, as the birth of a son is due in next 48 hours, following which she will be in Pakistan.
Raja Qureshi told newsmen the entire exercise of trial should take seven clean days for the completion of the trial as per ATA. Katpar remarked he hoped to win the case and the reason of being optimistic is that the case of the prosecution is weak, as neither the body of Daniel Pearl has been recovered, nor the place of detention or killing has been shown. The entire case revolves around a video tape, in which someone is slaughtering Daniel Pearl’s neck, which is not enough for convicting any one in the case, Katpar said.
Syed Abdul Rauf, the father of co-accused Salman Saqib, in his emotional reaction over not allowing him to meet his son in the court, said police and authorities are scared of us. Police and security officials believe as if we had tied bombs to our bodies, as they feared that the Karachi jail could be bombed. But if we could do this in Karachi, then we could do the same in Hyderabad, he said.
The administration is so scared of us that even the school bags of children, living in Central Prison staff colony are being thoroughly checked, he said. Sheikh Aslam, the brother of co-accused Sheikh Adil, termed the denial of meeting with his brother as denial of justice. He said the accused and co-accused are being detained in solitary confinement and even in condemned wards whereas nowhere under trial prisoners are treated in such a humiliating manner, he said. Sheikh Aslam alleged that the accused might be handed over to the United States for which the justification is being created, while the paper work is also being done.
Source: The News
Date:5/4/2002
