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Terror Networks
Kidnapers threaten to kill Pearl
2002-01-30
  • The kidnappers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl threatened to kill the journalist within 24 hours in an e-mail message. The e-mail said other American journalists in Pakistan were targets and accused Pearl of being an Israeli intelligence agent. "We have seen the latest communication from the people claiming to hold Danny Pearl," the paper said in a statement. "Mr. Pearl, a US citizen born in the US, and a working journalist all of his adult life, is not an agent of any government or agency. He is a reporter for us - nothing more, nothing less." The e-mail letter threatening Pearl was received by Western and Pakistani news agencies.
    Killing Pearl could be a very stupid thing for the snuffies to do. This isn't the US embassy in Tehran. Even without government involvement, the Journal has the money to bring the kidnapers in. And the Bush administration is probably in the mood to be involved. To keep them from indulging that moodiness, Pakland will also probably be motivated to hunt very hard for the killers. Only by killing Pearl and then living a significant amount of time to brag about it will the kidnapers gain anything in the way of jihad points - and chances are against that happening.

  • Pakistan police have arrested a Muslim militant, Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani, wanted in connection with the disappearance of US journalist Daniel Pearl. Pearl disappeared after telling his wife he was going to interview Gilani, a leader of a little known militant Muslim group Tanzeem-ul-Fuqra based in Lahore. Gilani was found alone in a house in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The deputy police inspector in Karachi, Tariq Jamil, said be believed security forces were close to arresting two other people linked to Pearl's disappearance. "Let's see what details come out of him (Gilani), then we will be in a position to know the whereabouts of the missing journalist."
    Toldja the Pak cops had an incentive not to be incompetent.

  • "It seems to be a fake organisation," said Brig Javed Cheema, Director-General of the Crisis Management Cell of the Interior Ministry, when asked about the group which calls itself the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty (NMRPS).
    Wow. Wotta surprise!

    "Neither have we heard of any such organisation in the past nor has it ever been known to be active before this incident." He said the joint investigation teams, comprising officials of federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had found some important clues which might help in early recovery of the kidnapped journalist.
    Okay. It's a throw-away front, like a dummy corporation. Having the FBI looking over your shoulder will probably keep you diligent for a few days.

    Sources said the Sindh inspector-general police have informed the federal government that investigation teams had found some important clues by tracking down the e-mail source of the kidnappers through the Internet Service Providers.
    Yup. That'd be the place to start. Good move.

    The message was sent under the name "kidnapperguy" via Hotmail, Microsoft's free e-mail service.
    Kidnapperguy@hotmail.com? You gotta be kiddin' us! Did Woody Allen write this? Are there Samoan assassins involved?

    Cheema said the authorities were probing the linkages and clues obtained from Al-Furqan organisation.
    If they're serious, they're hitting all the people they have in custody very many times. And they're looking for more people to bring into custody.

    Sources said the search operation for the missing reporter was being monitored by the Chief Executive Secretariat and a number of government agencies were coordinating closely.
    Yeah, we'll bet they are, from the highest levels down.

    If the poor guy's not dead already, he's got a real good chance of getting killed by nut cases, particularly when the Pak cops start to close in, stepping in buckets and knocking things over and generally making a racket. The incident's also got the potential to make the Pak government crack down viciously on its domestic nutbags - as it should. And the nutbags aren't smart enough to realize that they could end up getting breaded and fried like the Taliban was.

    If they ever get back to amicable relations again, the Paks should invite the Indians to help retrain their police and domestic intelligence services. It looks like they really need the help.
    • Posted by:Fred Pruitt

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