Page 15 - Pakistan Link - January 29, 2020

PAKISTAN JANUARY 29, 2021 – PAKISTAN LINK – P15
Pakistan Voices Opposition to 18 Years on, Key Accused Admits to

New Permanent Seats in UNSC ‘Minor Role’ in Daniel Pearl’s Beheading

Karachi: After 18 years of denial,

New York: Pakistan has warned that the main accused, convicted and lat-
attempts by the aspirants of perma- er acquitted, in the 2002 beheading
nent seats on the UN Security Coun- of American journalist Daniel Pearl
cil (UNSC) — India, Brazil, Germa- has told a court he played a “minor”
ny and Japan — to railroad efforts to role in the killing, the Pearl family

reform the 15-member body would lawyer said on Wednesday.
kill the consensus-based process to A letter handwritten by Ah-

make it more effective, representa- mad Saeed Omar Sheikh in 2019,
tive and accountable. in which he admits limited involve-
“Inter-governmental negotia- ment in the killing of the Wall Street
tions (IGN) remain the only cred- Journal reporter, was submitted to
ible platform for a comprehensive the Supreme Court nearly two weeks
reform of the council,” Ambassador ago. It wasn’t until Wednesday that

Munir Akram said while re-affirm- Sheikh’s lawyers confirmed their cli- who killed Pearl and alleges it was

ing Pakistan’s strong opposition to ent wrote it. another militant, Atta-ur-Rahman,
creating new permanent members. Nowhere in the three-page let- alias Naeem Bokhari, who has since
“Any attempts to undermine “Inter-governmental negotiations (IGN) remain the only credible platform for a ter addressed to the Sindh High been executed in connection with
or derail the IGN process will prove comprehensive reform of the Council,” Ambassador Munir Akram said while re- Court (SHC) did the British-born an attack on a paramilitary base in

counterproductive,” the Pakistani affirming Pakistan’s strong opposition to creating new permanent members Sheikh elaborate or say exactly what Karachi.
envoy said when the long-running his allegedly minor role in Pearl’s In the letter, dated July 25, 2019
IGN process resumed in New York manent with longer terms and with a to build on the progress made dur- slaying involved. and stamped with the seal of the
on Monday. possibility of getting re-elected. ing IGN’s previous sessions,” Akram Daniel Pearl, 38, was doing re- SHC, Sheikh asks that he be given

Having failed to evoke support The Security Council is cur- said, adding that it was only through search on religious extremism in Ka- an opportunity to “clarify my actual
for their bid for permanent mem- rently composed of five permanent dialogue and consensus that a solu- rachi when he was abducted in Janu- role in this matter so that my sen-

bership of the council, he said that members which include Britain, tion could be achieved. ary 2002. A graphic video showing tence may be reduced accordingly
G-4 members were trying to create China, France, Russia and the Unit- “We are ready and willing to his decapitation was delivered to the to one which is consistent with the
the “fear” that the opportunity for ed States, and 10 non-permanent work with you to promote this ob- US consulate a month later. Subse- requirement of justice”.
reform may soon be lost unless their members elected to serve for two jective,” the Pakistani envoy said. quently, Omar was arrested in 2002 However, Sheikh’s lawyer,
procedural moves to short circuit years. and sentenced to death by a trial Mehmood A. Sheikh, insisted that
the process were endorsed. In his remarks, Ambassador ‘Human Rights court. his client wrote the letter under
“We are prepared to breathe Akram said that the UfC proposal In its April 2, 2020, order, the duress and that he did not know or
new life in IGN but some states are to add 11 new non-permanent seats Bodies, Media SHC had overturned the conviction have any connection to Pearl.

bent upon killing the process,” Am- would redress the “deficit” of equi- of Omar Sheikh for killing the South The lawyer, who is not related

bassador Akram said. table representation in the UNSC as Exposing Indian Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street to Sheikh, said his client described

Full-scale negotiations to re- it accommodates the interests of all Journal. The SHC had also acquitted the conditions in his prison as worse

form the UNSC began in the Gener- groups. Oppression in IIOJK’ three other men namely Fahad Nas- than the life of an animal and wrote
al Assembly in February 2009 on five “In 1945, the council represent- eem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib, the letter in an attempt to get a hear-

key areas: the categories of member- ed 20 per cent of the membership of Islamabad: Foreign Minister who had been earlier sentenced to ing, not make an admission of guilt.
ship, the question of veto, regional the United Nations. Today, it rep- Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on life imprisonment by an Anti-Ter- He wanted to be able to be heard, the
representation, size of an enlarged resents 8pc of the membership. In Tuesday that international human rorism Court (ATC) in Karachi. lawyer said.

Security Council, and working 1945, there was one non-permanent rights organizations and the media Subsequently, the Sindh gov- The appeal is expected to wrap
methods of the council and its rela- seat for eight member states. Today, are exposing Indian oppression in ernment as well as the parents of up this week, said Siddiqi, the Pearl

tionship with the General Assembly. there is one non-permanent seat for occupied Kashmir, Radio Pakistan Pearl had filed separate appeals family attorney. He said he expects a

Despite a general agreement on 19 member states.” reported. against the SHC’s order in the Su- quick decision after Sheikh’s admis-
enlarging the council, as part of the He also pointed out that a third In a statement, he said that In- preme Court. sion of involvement, even in a minor
UN reform process, member states of UN members have never served dia’s Republic Day — celebrated on On Wednesday, the Pearls’ fam- capacity, in Pearl’s death.
remain sharply divided over the de- on the council while Saint Vincent Jan 26 to commemorate the day the ily attorney, Faisal Siddiqi, called “This changes everything,” he

tails. and the Grenadines is only the sec- Indian constitution came into ef- Sheikh’s confirmation that he wrote said of the letter.

The G-4 have shown no flex- ond small island developing state to fect — is being observed as a “Black the letter a dramatic development Sheikh was convicted of help-
ibility in their push for expanding ever serve on the UNSC. Day” by Kashmiris across the world. and demanded that the conviction ing lure Pearl to a meeting in Kara-

the UNSC by 10 seats, with six ad- The Pakistani envoy said UfC’s “The people are protesting as and the death sentence for Sheikh be chi, during which he was kidnapped.
ditional permanent and four non- proposal can accommodate the aspi- their rights have been usurped,” he reinstated. Pearl was investigating the link be-
permanent members. rations of the African Group, small said. The foreign minister stated that “This is very, very important tween militants and Richard C Reid,

On the other hand, the Italy/ island developing states, the Arab minorities feel unsafe in India, add- because for the last 18 years, the dubbed the ‘Shoe Bomber’ after try-

Pakistan-led Uniting for Consen- Group and the Organisation of Is- ing that instead of democracy “black position of Omar Saeed Sheikh was ing to blow up a flight from Paris to

sus (UfC) group opposes any addi- lamic Cooperation (OIC). “The G-4 laws are being imposed in the neigh- that he did not know Danny Pearl, Miami with explosives hidden in his
tional permanent members, saying is unlikely to apply Africa’s regional boring country”. he never met Danny Pearl,” Siddiqi shoes.
it would make it less representative, approach to their own regions,” he Qureshi said that the negative told The Associated Press. “He had Sheikh was sentenced to death

less effective and more divided, and said. policies of the BJP government were taken a position of complete igno- and three other suspects were sen-

will diminish the right of the vast The consensus-based African also affecting the Indian economy. rance regarding this case, but now tenced to life in prison for their roles

majority of the UN membership to model is anchored in the twin im- He added that all countries neigh- in a hand-written letter, he has ad- in the plot. The acquittal last April
serve on the body. peratives of “representation” and boring India, including Bangladesh, mitted to at least a limited role.” He stunned the US government, Pearl’s
UfC has proposed a new cat- “accountability”, he pointed out. Nepal and China, were annoyed has not asked that he be acquitted. family and journalism advocacy
egory of members that are not per- “Pakistan and the UfC are keen over Delhi’s posturing. He accepts his guilt but asks that his groups.
Last month, acting US Attorney
Ex-ISI Chief Durrani Has Been Interacting with India’s RAW sentence may be reduced, he added. General Jeffery Rosen warned that
In the letter, Sheikh writes that

his role in the matter was a relatively the US would not let Sheikh go free,

Islamabad: The Ministry of De- Spy Chronicles revealed that it con- minor one, which does not warrant saying if those efforts do not suc-
fense has opposed a request seeking tained “certain contents concerning the death sentence. A copy of the let- ceed, the United States stands ready
removal of former Inter-Services [the] national security of Pakistan, ter was obtained by the AP. to take custody of Omar Sheikh to
Intelligence (ISI) director general being in contravention of the pro- Sheikh also admits to knowing stand trial in America. - AP
retired Lt Gen Asad Durrani’s name visions of the Official Secrets Acts,

from the Exit Control List (ECL), 1923”. the government, the same had still public interest and integrity, secu-
saying he had been “interacting “It is further highlighted that not been seen “in tangible terms”. rity or defense of Pakistan”.
with hostile elements” including In- there are [a] number of such pub- According to the ministry’s It said Durrani’s name could
dian intelligence agency RAW since lications on the way, supported reply, Rule 2(c) of the Exit from not be removed from ECL “at this
2008 and was likely to be involved by hostile elements which contain Pakistan (Control) Rules, 2010, au- stage” because inquiries being con-

in future publications against the in- content to create misperception, thorized the federal government to ducted against him were being fi-
terest of Pakistan. the same was done in May 2018. The confusions, question marks against prohibit a person from exiting Paki- nalized. It said the former ISI chief

Durrani found himself in hot former spymaster challenged the the top leadership circles at country stan for a foreign destination if the wanted to travel abroad with the in-

water after co-authoring a book, move in the Islamabad High Court level and to target the common peo- said person is involved in “’acts of tention of participating in interna-

titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI (IHC) in 2019. ple,” reads the ministry’s response, terrorism or its conspiracy’, ‘heinous tional conferences, forums and talks
and the Illusion of Peace, with Ama- In its para-wise comments sub- a copy of which was reviewed by crimes’ and ‘threatening national se- which will have “serious national se-
rjit Singh Dulat, the former head of mitted in response to Durrani’s peti- Dawn.com. curity’”. curity implications as evident from
India’s Research and Analysis Wing tion in the IHC on Wednesday, the It added that Durrani had been Moreover, it said Articles 15 the recently published book ‘Hon-
spy agency, in 2018. defense ministry said the former ISI “affi liated/interacting with hostile and 19 of the Constitution clearly our Among Spies’” — which was

After the book’s publication, chief’s name was placed on the no- elements especially Indian RAW stated that the “freedom of move- also authored by Durrani and pub-
the Military Intelligence (MI) had fly list for “his involvement in anti- since 2008”, saying although he had ment and freedom of speech are lished “through Indian publishers/

written to the interior ministry to state activities”. submitted an affidavit “committing subject to any reasonable restric- RAW supported elements”, accord-
put Durrani’s name on the ECL and It said a perusal of the book The to refrain from such activities” to tions imposed by [the] law in the ing to the defense ministry.

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