Author:
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: February 22, 2002
Introduction: An act of barbarism,
says Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal reported
early this morning that 38-year-old Daniel Pearl, their Mumbai-based reporter
for south Asia, had been killed by his kidnappers in Pakistan. A message
on the New York-based paper's website said the paper was basing its statement
on reports from the US State Department and the Pakistani police.
Police received a videotape showing
US journalist Daniel Pearl's murder by his kidnappers, a spokesman in this
southern Pakistani city said today. "On February 21 around 11 pm videotape
was received. The recorded video contained scenes Daniel Pearl in captivity
and scenes of his murder by the kidnappers. The tape appears to be correct,"
a spokesman of Sindh province's home department said in a statement.
Investigation teams have since been
issued instructions to apprehend those who killed the Wall Street Journal
reporter, he said. Senior police officials refused to comment on the contents
of the video, but said they held meetings to discuss the matter early today.
One senior investigator said British-born
Islamic militant Sheikh Oman, held in connection with the kidnapping, "would
now face a murder case."
Pearl was kidnapped nearly a month
ago in Karachi when he had gone to interview a fundamentalist leader in
Pakistan. Pearl's wife, Mariane, who is pregnant with their first child,
is also a journalist and a documentary filmmaker. They were living at Malabar
Hill.
A statement jointly released by
Wall Street Journal publisher Peter R Kann and managing editor Paul E Steiger
said, "We now believe, based on reports from the US State Department and
police officials of the Pakistani province of Sind, that Pearl was killed
by his captors. We are heartbroken at his death.
"Danny was an outstanding colleague,
a great reporter, and a dear friend of many at the Journal. His murder
is an act of barbarism that makes a mockery of everything Danny's kidnappers
claimed to believe in. They claimed to be Pakistani nationalists, but their
actions must surely bring shame to all true Pakistani patriots.
"This loss is, of course, most painful
for Danny's family, in this country and elsewhere. We ask our colleagues
in the press to respect their privacy, and to permit them to grieve undisturbed."
Meanwhile, a US State Department
spokesman said, "Our embassy in Pakistan has confirmed today that they
have received evidence that Pearl is dead. We have informed Pearl's family
and expressed our sincere condolences." State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher provided no further details of the evidence. However, two US officials
said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had obtained the videotape
purportedly showing Pearl being killed, and is evaluating the tape's authenticity.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
The State Department has condemned
the killing. "The murder of Pearl is an outrage and we condemn it. Both
the US and Pakistan are committed to identifying all the perpetrators of
this crime and bringing them to justice," Boucher said. "We will continue
to work closely with Pakistani authorities, who had made every effort to
locate and free Pearl."
Pearl's abduction, on January 23,
prompted appeals from top US and Pakistani officials for his release, and
resulted in the arrests of several people believed to have been involved
in the kidnapping, including alleged ringleader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.
The latter is a British-born militant who is also known as Sheikh Omar.
Pearl reported from the US, Europe
and Asia in a 12-year career with the WSJ. Based in Mumbai for the past
year as WSJ's bureau chief for South Asia, he was on assignment in Pakistan
as part of the paper's coverage of recent developments in Afghanistan.
He was working on a story on alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid. - Agencies
