| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Commentary: A Mockery |
| 2005-07-21 |
| By Judea and Ruth Pearl The London bombing has evoked a world-wide determination to stamp out terrorism at its roots, and many are now hopeful that the mastermind of this atrocity will be apprehended, so that justice will be served. Yet soon after the awful events in Britain came the bitter anniversary of justice denied in another tragedy of terrorism. July 15 marked the third anniversary of the day when a court in Hyderabad, Pakistan, issued a death sentence to the man who organized the murder of our son, Daniel Pearl, along with life imprisonment for three accomplices. It was the first verdict after Sept. 11 to convict and sentence international terrorists in a court of law. But three years after the verdict against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and the others, we note with sadness and disappointment that the sentence has not been carried out. When our son Danny, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was murdered in Karachi in February 2002, we received letters of condolence from around the world, and particularly from many Pakistani citizens. They expressed shame and anger at the perpetrators, and reassured us that the vast majority of Pakistanis view Danny as a symbol of their country's long-standing struggle with terrorism. Following the verdict, we published an open letter to the people of Pakistan on the pages of this newspaper (on July 17, 20021) stating: "It thus proves to the world that Pakistan is not merely a place where people fear and abhor terrorism, but also a place that possesses the legal muscle to subdue terrorism and secure justice and dignity for its people." That the sentence has yet to be carried out is contrary to any standard of sensibility. Saeed's appeal has been kept lingering in the court system, kicked from one adjournment to another, with no hearing to speak of and no end in sight. Using the protection of his jail cell, Saeed reportedly keeps in touch with his friends and followers in Pakistan and Britain, and advises them on future courses of action, which include: ways of retaliating against the alleged desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo; assassination attempts against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf; and possibly even the latest bombing attacks in London (according to a report by an Indian analyst). Just very recently, the scheduled hearing of the appeal was adjourned for the 32nd time. Paradoxically, a day after this latest adjournment, President Musharraf told law enforcement officials in Rawalpindi that "We owe it to our future generations to rid the country of the malaise of extremism." It is vital that President Musharraf realize that by allowing the arch-symbol of extremism, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, to make a mockery of Pakistani justice for a full three years, he is effectively inviting the malaise of extremism in his country to make a mockery of Pakistan for many generations to come. |
| Posted by:john |
| #1 The jihadis are going to regret this killing. This is one victim whose parents will not be nameless and who will accept excuses. They will continue to push. Perv should beware. A lawsuit against Pak entities may follow. |
| Posted by: john 2005-07-21 13:22 |