The Sindh government has challenged Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order for acquittal and release of prisoners in the Daniel Pearl murder case in the Top Court.

The SHC on April 2 had commuted the death sentence awarded to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh – convicted for kidnapping and murdering US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 – to seven years and acquitted three others who were serving life terms – almost two decades after they were found guilty and jailed.

A two-member SHC bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Zulfiqar Sangi, had announced the verdict on the appeals filed by the four men against their 2002 convictions by an anti-terrorism court (ATC).
The Sindh government had announced it would file an appeal against the SHC order immediately after the verdict was announced. It also decided to detain the accused for three months under Section 3 (1) of West Pakistan of Maintenance Public Order Ordinance 1960.