The hunt for the killers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is targeting three Arab nationals, an indication, investigators claim, that the perpetrators may be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, according to AP.
On Sunday, authorities provided little information with regards to the Arabs' identity or what role they may have played in the matter. However, their alleged involvement, combined with investigators' disclosure that a key suspect now in custody said he met personally with prime terror mastermind suspect Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, suggested an al-Qaeda connection.
Police believe a dozen or more people were involved in Pearl's abduction and murder, and that most of them have spent time in Afghanistan as supporters of that country's ousted Taliban regime. Their ties to the al-Qaeda, the group believed responsible for the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, are being thoroughly studied, investigators said.
Four prime suspects were already in police custody when US and Pakistani authorities revealed the contents of a videotape Friday that showed gruesome images of the 38-year-old journalist having his throat slit.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-born Islamic militant who police believe was the brain behind Pearl's abduction, has been in police custody since early February. At one point he told interrogators that he met with bin Laden in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, a senior police investigator said on condition of anonymity.
He also told investigators that his group wanted to teach the United States a lesson and Pearl's murder was just a first step, intelligence officials added.
On Monday, prosecutors formally charged Saeed and three codefendants with kidnapping and murder. The three others are accused of having sent e-mails announcing Pearl's abduction, including one showing the journalist with a gun pointed to his head.
Fearing the slaying may signal a wider scheme to thwart the government's drive against terrorism, Pakistani authorities have warned US and other foreign diplomatic missions and businesses to strengthen their security.
Prior to his abduction on January 23, Pearl had been investigating alleged links between Pakistani militants and Richard Reid, who was arrested in December for allegedly trying to ignite explosives in his shoes during a Paris-Miami flight.
With Saeed in prison, the main target of a massive police dragnet is Amjad Faruqi, whom Pearl apparently knew as Imtiaz Siddiqi and who is believed to have carried out the kidnapping. A senior police investigator said one detainee said he met with Faruqi several times and each time three Arabs accompanied Faruqi.
The investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three suspects currently in custody have been to Afghanistan and were close to the Taliban. Ousted by the US-led campaign last year, the Taliban had provided shelter to al-Qaeda, many of whose members are Arab.
Another four Pakistani suspects currently being sought are also believed to have spent time in Afghanistan under the auspices of the Taliban.
Meanwhile, authorities also are searching for a suspect who goes by both Asim and Kasim. He is believed to be one of the hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane that was diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1999. Saeed was released from an Indian prison in a prisoner-hostage swap in that case.
Another suspect is Hashim Qadeer, whom Pearl apparently knew as Arif. Like Faruqi, he is believed to be a leader of the outlawed Pakistani Islamic militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, or Army of Mohammed.
Citing its graphic content, authorities say they will not make a videotape confirming Pearl's death available to the news media. A source close to the investigation, who said he saw one tape said it lasted for an estimated three minutes and consisted of three segments.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he offered this account:
In the first segment, Pearl is forced to say that he is Jewish and that both his parents are also Jewish. He is also forced to give a statement denouncing America's actions against Muslims.
In the second part, the journalist is shown lying on the ground, apparently unconscious or already dead, with his throat slit.
The third segment shows Pearl decapitated.
Throughout the videotape, images of Afghanistan, including prisoners and bombed out buildings, are shown on a split screen alongside the images of Pearl. No one's face is shown on the video except for Pearl's. In the footage showing him conscious, Pearl appeared calm, the source said.
The source said it is not possible to know when, where or how the journalist was killed from the tape alone. That information is still not known. Pearl's body has not been found and one investigator said Saturday that it would be difficult to find unless the remaining suspects are apprehended.
After Pearl's death was confirmed, Pakistan’s President Musharraf vowed to fight terrorists with an "iron hand."
Yet there are concerns about continuing close links between Pakistani intelligence agencies and Islamic militant groups, forged through years of fighting shared enemies in Afghanistan and in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
