Pearl murder suspect tracked down

Pearl murder suspect tracked down

A key suspect in the kidnapping and murder in Pakistan last year of US reporter Daniel Pearl has been found in police custody, say his lawyers.

Several people have already been sentenced over Pearl's death

The suspect, Fazal Karim, was tracked down by his relatives after being held incommunicado by police for the last eight months.

His lawyer, Khawaja Naveed, said police kept Mr Karim illegally because of fears he might give evidence that would compromise the conviction last year of British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for the murder.

Pearl, of the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped in Karachi when he was researching a story on Islamic militants.

His body was recovered from a shallow grave in Karachi in a plot of land belonging to another suspect who police say is on the run.

Police had named Fazal Karim as a suspect and possible witness to Pearl's murder, but consistently denied allegations he was already in their custody.

On Thursday they said they had arrested a man identifying himself as Mr Karim two days before, for possessing illegal drugs.

Death sentence

"Police got hold of Fazal Karim in July, but never showed his arrest because it affected the trial," said Mr Naveed.

Omar Sheikh was sentenced to death last year for ordering Pearl's kidnap and murder, while three accomplices were given life imprisonment.

Mr Naveed said police had kept Karim in "illegal detention" in a police station in Thatta district, 100 km (60 miles) east of Karachi.

He was discovered there after a tip-off to his father-in-law.