Author: Chidanand Rajghatta
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 22, 2002
URL: http://www.timesofindia.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=1795615
The brutal slaying of Wall Street
Journal reporter Daniel Pearl comes as a major embarrassment to Pakistan's
military leader Pervez Musharraf and has turned the spotlight on Islamabad's
possible back channel links with terrorists.
The admission by chief suspect Omar
Sheikh that he was involved in Pearl's abduction, his connection to Mansoor
Hasnain, the hijacker of the Indian Airlines plane who sprung him from
an Indian prison, and their links with shadowy intelligence operatives,
all threaten to expose Pakistan's questionable policies in the region.
Musharraf staked his personal prestige
during his visit to Washington last week with assurances of Pearl's well-being
and his imminent release even after key suspect Omar Sheikh disclosed in
court that the journalist had been killed. It now appears Omar knew exactly
what he was talking about and Musharraf's guarantee was based more on hope
than conviction.
Misgivings about Islamabad's handling
of the case arose after it was disclosed that Sheikh had been in custody
of Pakistani authorities for nearly a week following his surrender. But
this was disclosed just before Musharraf met President Bush.
Pakistan also initially said Sheikh
had been apprehended but the fugitive disclosed that he had actually walked
into the home of high-ranking official. He was then debriefed by unknown
interlocutors before being produced in court.
In court proceedings, which government
prosecutors tried to keep in camera but were rebuffed by the judge, Sheikh
admitted his involvement in the Pearl kidnapping. But Pakistani authorities
rejected his confession saying he made it without being sworn in and without
the presence of a court stenographer. They also suggested he was trying
to mislead authorities and his statement could be a coded message to Pearl's
captors.
However, the US has initiated Grand
Jury investigation into Sheikh's role in the kidnapping and other terrorist
activity. If indicted, the FBI will seek his extradition to the US for
trial. The US and Pakistan do not have a formal extradition treaty but
that has not stopped Washington from demanding and getting other terrorists
such as Mir Aimal Kansi and Ramzi Yousef from Pakistan.
The Pearl slaying also draws India
into the picture because one of Omar Sheikh's contacts who he referred
to as Hyder (and who Pearl knew as Imtiaz Siddiqi), is believed to be Mansur
Hasnain, a terrorist involved in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane
to Kathmandu. That episode freed Sheikh and his mentor Maulana Masood Azhar
from an Indian jail in a hostages-prisoners swap.
Because Omar Sheikh has described
Masood Azhar as his mentor and contacted him before his surrender, the
cleric who founded the Jaish-e-Mohammed is also in US cross-hairs. It now
seems that the entire sequence of terrorist events - from the 9/11 attacks
to the Pearl kidnapping - are connected in some way or the other with Sheikh
Omar being one of the central characters.
In the event of Omar's extradition,
the ISI's role in sponsoring terrorism could be fully exposed. One of Sheikh's
contact arrested by Pakistani authorities is said to be a police intelligence
operative. Two other former ISI officers have also been questioned in this
connection.
Pakistan has so far not allowed
Sheikh to be examined by US officials amid fears that he could spill the
beans about his ISI connections. Although the Bush administration has been
quick to say it is happy with Islamabad's cooperation - possibly to prevent
a backlash against Pakistanis - the US media has been more sceptical, saying
questions persist about the possible role of elements in Musharraf's government.
The Bush administration already
seems to have determined that maverick elements of the ISI, with or without
Pakistani government support, have been playing havoc in the region. Stories
of downsizing in the ISI - a possible euphemism for a US inspired purge
- have been appearing in the American media. They have been denied and
described a tendentious by Pakistani officials but there are indications
that a massive clean up is underway.
