KARACHI- The taxi driver, who had dropped Daniel Pearl near a hotel, identified on Wednesday Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh, the prime suspect in the US journalist kidnapping case, as one of the kidnappers, before a judicial magistrate.
According to the cab driver, Nasir, as he dropped the Wall Street Journal reporter near the Metropole Hotel a white car appeared there. One of the four occupants of the car got down and made Daniel Pearl sit in the car by holding his arm.
Court sources said the driver, who appeared as the prime witness for the prosecution, identified Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh from the set of dummies during the identification parade before the judicial magistrate, South, Irum Jahangir.
No reporter or lawyer was allowed to attend the court proceedings by the police, who took positions at different points on the premises of the City courts. According to the investigators, Nasir appeared as prosecution witness voluntarily.
The sources said the statement of driver Nasir under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code could not be recorded before the magistrate as the prime suspect wanted his attorney to be present for the cross-examination of the witness before he deposed against him. They said the prime suspect submitted before the magistrate that his relatives were not being allowed to meet him and that he wanted to engage a lawyer for his defence.
The magistrate, the sources said, ordered the police authorities to arrange a meeting between Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh and his relatives so that he could be represented in the court. The senior superintendent of police, investigation, Manzoor Mughul, appeared before the court and assured it that the meeting of Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh with his relatives would be arranged accordingly.
She fixed March 9 for recording the statement of the prosecution witness under 164 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Meanwhile, sources close to the investigation said that the specimens of the handwriting of suspects Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh and Adil Shaikh were also taken before the magistrate and they were sent to the handwriting expert with the text of the email messages, written by the two suspects, for verification. They said Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh had prepared the email messages in English and Adil in Urdu.
Earlier, the police authorities brought Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh, who was muffled with a piece of cloth, to the City courts at around 1:40pm amid extra-ordinary security arrangements. He was taken straight to the courtroom. Adil Shaikh was brought to the court at about 2:45pm. Following the court proceedings, the police took the two suspects away at 3:10pm.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/7/2002
