Al-Qaida militant identified as a killer of Daniel Pearl
By The Associated Press
09.19.02
KARACHI, Pakistan — An al-Qaida militant arrested with alleged Sept. 11 organizer Ramzi Binalshibh has been identified as one of the killers of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl, a senior police official said on Sept. 17.
The identification was made by a Pakistani held but not charged in the kidnap-slaying of the newspaper's South Asian correspondent, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, the Pakistani, Fazal Karim, was taken to an intelligence agency safe house where 10 suspects, including Binalshibh, were held. Most of them were Yemenis, officials have said.
The official refused to identify Pearl's alleged killer by name but said he was not among the five people, including Binalshibh, who were handed over to U.S. authorities on Sept. 16 and flown out of the country.
If true, Karim's statement would be the first evidence that al-Qaida may have been involved in Pearl's abduction and killing. Pearl was kidnapped in January while investigating links between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, who was arrested in December on a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives in his shoes.
His dismembered body was found in May in a shallow grave in Karachi. Police officials have said they were led to the grave by Karim and two others.
It was unclear what impact the revelation would have on the government's case against four Pakistani militants who were convicted of Pearl's abduction in July. British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death by hanging and the others received life sentences. All have appealed.
Pearl's body was found after the trial of the four had already begun. The government has never charged Karim or the two others or officially confirmed they are being held.
However, police officials said last month that the three men gave them detailed accounts of Pearl's days in captivity. They said a group of Arabs believed to be Yemenis cut Pearl's throat three days after he tried to escape.
The Yemenis were not brought into the equation until after the trial. According to Karim, the Yemenis did the killing.