The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate removal of the prime accused in the Daniel Pearl murder case, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, from the death cell.
Earlier, the apex court had extended the detention of Sheikh by one day upon the request of Sindh government.
A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing the Sindh government’s review petition today.
During the proceedings, the attorney-general speaking to the court claimed that Sheikh was not an ordinary individual, but a terrorist mastermind.
Justice Bandial remarked that Sheikh was accused of kidnapping Pearl and the case did not concern his past activities. He asked the attorney-general whether it had been proven that Sheikh was involved in terrorist activities.
The attorney-general argued that the federation had the power to detain dangerous criminals, to which Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that Sheikh had already been illegally detained for a month.
Justice Akhtar said it was not the dark ages that an accused should remain in jail even after 18 years, the court further remarked that the video evidence in the case did not show the face of the victim and thus a clear deduction could not be made.
The court then ordered immediate removal of Sheikh from the death cell while also ordering him to be shifted to the general barracks. After this, Sheikh should be shifted to a government rest house by Friday under tight security, where his family will be able to visit from 8am to 5pm, the order further entailed.
Sheikh will not have access to a mobile phone or internet while the government will pay for his family’s accommodation and transport.
The hearing was adjourned indefinitely.
