Author: Josy Joseph in New Delhi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: February 6, 2002
Sheikh Ahmed Omar Sheikh, now the
prime suspect in the abduction of The Wall Street Journal scribe Daniel
Pearl, is a familiar face to the Indian security and intelligence agencies.
There is a quiet sense of satisfaction
among the Indian agencies at having been proved right again, as the US
state department acknowledges that the sophisticated, suave Omar is probably
behind Pearl's abduction.
Sheikh was released from Indian
custody in exchange for the hostages of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane,
IC 814.
"He is suave and intelligent to
plan out the kidnapping of a westerner better than an average jihadi in
Pakistan," a senior Indian intelligence officer said.
Indian intelligence officials said
that Omar is a specialist in kidnappings, and had already proved his capability
by kidnapping five foreigners in 1994 in New Delhi. He was arrested during
that operation.
Indian agencies always believed
that Omar Sheikh was the most dangerous of the three terrorists released
in exchange for IC 814 hostages on December 31, 1999.
The other two released were Maulana
Masood Azhar, the founder leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Mushtaq Zargar.
Ever since his release, Indian intelligence
spotters saw Sheikh 'on and off' in Pakistan and once was seen in Afghanistan,
near one of the camps of Osama bin Laden.
After September 11 attacks, the
Indian agencies insisted that they have enough reasons to suspect that
he was somehow party to the conspiracy. There were, however, no convincing
explanations for their claims.
But, a few weeks after their claims
there were western news reports saying that Omar Sheikh had wired $100,000
to some contacts, who in turn sent it to the hijackers.
Indian agencies believe that Omar
Sheikh is capable of much more.
The only change in his life, marked
by impressive academic abilities and rare dedication to jihad, during the
past two years has been his marriage.
But, with his links to the abduction
of Daniel Pearl becoming clear, marriage seems to have had no effect on
his activities.
The story of Sheikh's father is
typical of any successful Pakistani migrant to the west, and that of Sheikh
typical of a modern day jihadi.
Saeed Ahmed Sheikh, Omar's father,
was born in Dhoka Mandi village near Lahore and lived there till his early
20s before migrating to London sometime in 1968 to pursue Chartered Accountancy
course.
After being an accountant with a
record company for a short while, Saeed Ahmed Sheikh started his own wholesale
garment business under the name 'Perfect Fashions'.
At present, his company earns over
half a million pounds annually.
His family owns a house (bought
in 1977) in London, some shops and land.
Omar Sheikh is the eldest of the
three children, and was born on December 23, 1973 in London.
His younger sister, Hajira Sheikh,
was confirmed to be a medicine student till recently at Oxford, while his
younger brother, Awais Sheikh, was a student of A level in Oxford.
All the three children are known
to be brilliant, and are recipients of scholarships.
Omar Sheikh did his schooling at
Nightingale Primary School and later at Forest School at Snaresbrook. Present
English cricket team captain Nasser Hussain was his classmate at school.
In 1987, Omar's father wound up
his business and moved back to Lahore, but returned to London soon after
in 1990, after he had a fall out with his cousins.
During his stay in Lahore, Omar
went to Aitchison College. Indian agencies said that Omar was known for
his temperamental behaviour and he had enough quarrels that forced his
father to call him back to London. Omar went back to Forest School and
finished his Senior Cambridge in 1992.
During his Forest School days, Omar
had a short-lived romance with an English girl, Sarah, about whom he spoke
affectionately to Indian interrogators.
Omar is a combination of complex
interests, according to intelligence agencies.
He was a chess champion during his
days at London School of Economics, where he was also reputed for his brilliant
academic abilities. He is also a keen arm wrestler, and took part in the
1992 World Arm Wrestling Championships in Geneva.
A martial arts enthusiast, Omar's
prowess was seen by Indian police officers, who nabbed him in mid 90s,
when he was holding five foreigners captive outside Delhi.
While in a Ghaziabad hospital, after
being arrested by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, he punched a deputy superintendent
of police, and threatened to track down and kill the constable who had
slapped him back.
Later at the Meerut jail, he kicked
the jail superintendent, and was shifted to high security Tihar jail in
Delhi, after the Uttar Pradesh Police categorised him as 'dreaded'.
During his LSE days, Omar dabbled
in shares and equities and was earning up to 1000 pounds a day from a chain
of retail customers he had set up using his father's business base.
Moved by a documentary on Bosnia
(Destruction of a Nation) in 1992, Omar Sheikh took to jihad and went to
Bosnia on a trip with 'Convoy of Mercy'.
Indian officials believe that he
had tacit support from his father.
According officials, Omar was in
contact with Maulana Ismail of Clifton Mosque in North London, who inspired
him to join Harkat-ul-Ansar and come to Kashmir.
An Indian intelligence official
told rediff.com that psychologists who interacted with him during his stay
in Indian jails believe that he is an 'anti-Zionist and anti-Christian
who believes that Muslims can never be friends with Christians and Jews'.
"He feels it is the duty of every
Muslim to take up jihad and strengthen the Muslims wherever they were in
minority," the official said.
