On 23 January 2002, American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan. Pearl was an accomplished journalist for The Wall Street Journal, where he had worked since 1990. Starting in 2000, he served as the newspaper’s South Asia Bureau Chief, based in Bombay, India. As part of his journalistic responsibilities, he traveled throughout South Asia and occasionally ventured into Pakistan. On 1 February 2002, he was decapitated for being both American and Jewish.
At gunpoint, his last words on the video included, “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” Then, his throat was slit. In response to his murder, the Daniel Pearl Foundation, formed in 2002 to “promote the ideals that inspired his life and work,” issued this statement:
For weeks, millions around the world—from heads-of-state, to religious leaders and ordinary people—rallied for Danny’s release. In Danny, the terrorists believed they abducted a media figure, an American, and a Jew. But they had much more—a true citizen of the world and an embodiment of civilized values, whose death, like his life, would inspire millions of people in the cause of decency and cultural understanding. Several weeks elapsed without word of his fate; his murder was confirmed on February 21, 2002.
In 2021, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release of four terrorists who had been convicted for Pearl’s abduction and murder.
According to research by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 27 people were linked to the abduction and murder of Pearl. Only four of the kidnappers were convicted, including mastermind Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a Pakistani terrorist. The others remain free.
Sheikh was also indicted in the U.S. for hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in the murder of Pearl, as well as for the 1994 kidnapping of another American citizen in India. The indictment alleged in detail how Saeed Sheikh conspired to abduct and murder Pearl by pretending to help him meet a Muslim cleric for an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Omar Saeed Sheikh is a British citizen. France24 noted that he was “born in London in 1973 to a prosperous Pakistani garment merchant,” and that he was “given the best education, including enrolment at a private primary school in London, a stint at Lahore’s prestigious Aitchison College, and a brief tenure at the London School of Economics (LSE).”
In 1994, prior to his involvement in Pearl’s murder, Saeed Sheikh kidnapped several Western tourists in India, including an American and three British citizens. He also joined the Bosnian War in the 1990s, and he later participated in terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Kashmir. Sheikh was also a member of the Islamic terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC),
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)—also known as the Army of Mohammed—is an extremist group based in Pakistan … The group’s aim is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan and to expel foreign troops from Afghanistan. JEM has openly declared war against the United States.
Pearl traveled to Pakistan at a particularly tense time, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. in Washington, D.C. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Pakistan became a haven for Afghan Taliban members and other Islamic militants following the fall of the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan in 2001. Also, Pearl had been researching a radical Islamic leader prior to his murder and was in search for potential interviewees for the news article he was writing. He reached out to new contacts and made himself accessible in terrorist-filled Pakistan.
Pearl’s dismembered body parts were discovered in a shallow grave soon after a gruesome video of his beheading was delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi. Meanwhile, from behind bars, Saeed continued to make public statements. He gave an interview to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph in which he pledged allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar and said, “I’m trying to prepare myself to be of real service to the ‘ummah’ [Muslim nation] if I get another chance.”
In 2002, The Sunday Times reported that Sheikh “shouted out to reporters during one of his court appearances he was behind other crimes, including blowing up the Kashmir parliament in October last year, the attack on India’s parliament last December—which almost resulted in a war between India and Pakistan—the kidnapping of Indian businessmen for ransom, and the attack on the American Cultural Centre in Calcutta in January.”
In 2020, a Pakistani court overturned Sheikh’s death sentence. Less than a year later, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered his release. The court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis—Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil, and Salman Saqib—who had been sentenced to life in prison for their role in Pearl’s kidnapping and murder.
According to the Associated Press, ”The case seems certain to test the new Biden administration’s skill in dealing with Pakistan, considered a key ally in getting peace in neighboring Afghanistan.” Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl family’s lawyer, said in 2021 that the only legal avenue available at that time was to ask for a review of the court’s decision to uphold Sheikh’s acquittal. However, he said the review would be conducted by the same court that made the decision. “In practical terms,” that means the case is closed in Pakistan, he said.
Despite these practices, Pakistan has been one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid. From 2001 until the second Obama Administration, Pakistan received billions of dollars of U.S. military aid. The aid ostensibly had certain goals, such as assisting Pakistan in fighting terrorism, and developing a democratic government that would create peace inside the country and with its neighbors. However, despite billions of dollars towards these aims, none of these goals have been achieved.
In September 2023, U.S. Representative Andy Ogles proposed an amendment to the House of Representatives’ annual appropriations legislation which would bar U.S. aid to Pakistan in order to discourage its ongoing crackdown on political dissent. A total of 298 Representatives voted against the proposed amendment, while 132 voted in favor.
Meanwhile, Pakistan remains a major global center of Islamist terrorism.
Pearl’s legacy as a courageous investigative journalist, a proud Jew, and an American citizen will live on forever. Yet, his brutal murder 22 years ago has been echoes in the October 7 massacre in Israel, the increasing prevalence of antisemitic incidents, and the global pro-Hamas marches. The U.S. and British governments’ lack of sufficient response to the kidnapping and beheading of a U.S. citizen, perpetrated by a Pakistani Muslim born in England, conveys a clear message to Islamists regarding their potential violence against Jews, journalists, Americans, and other Westerners.
If the British and U.S. governments truly opposed Islamist terrorism and jihadist crimes—including those committed against their own citizens—how would they react to Pakistan’s open and proud protection and release of those terrorists? Their silence and inaction suggests something quite disturbing indeed.
22nd Anniversary of a Journalist’s Beheading
On 23 January 2002, American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan. Pearl was an accomplished journalist for The Wall Street Journal, where he had worked since 1990. Starting in 2000, he served as the newspaper’s South Asia Bureau Chief, based in Bombay, India. As part of his journalistic responsibilities, he traveled throughout South Asia and occasionally ventured into Pakistan. On 1 February 2002, he was decapitated for being both American and Jewish.
At gunpoint, his last words on the video included, “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” Then, his throat was slit. In response to his murder, the Daniel Pearl Foundation, formed in 2002 to “promote the ideals that inspired his life and work,” issued this statement:
In 2021, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release of four terrorists who had been convicted for Pearl’s abduction and murder.
According to research by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 27 people were linked to the abduction and murder of Pearl. Only four of the kidnappers were convicted, including mastermind Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a Pakistani terrorist. The others remain free.
Sheikh was also indicted in the U.S. for hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in the murder of Pearl, as well as for the 1994 kidnapping of another American citizen in India. The indictment alleged in detail how Saeed Sheikh conspired to abduct and murder Pearl by pretending to help him meet a Muslim cleric for an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Omar Saeed Sheikh is a British citizen. France24 noted that he was “born in London in 1973 to a prosperous Pakistani garment merchant,” and that he was “given the best education, including enrolment at a private primary school in London, a stint at Lahore’s prestigious Aitchison College, and a brief tenure at the London School of Economics (LSE).”
In 1994, prior to his involvement in Pearl’s murder, Saeed Sheikh kidnapped several Western tourists in India, including an American and three British citizens. He also joined the Bosnian War in the 1990s, and he later participated in terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Kashmir. Sheikh was also a member of the Islamic terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC),
Pearl traveled to Pakistan at a particularly tense time, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. in Washington, D.C. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Pakistan became a haven for Afghan Taliban members and other Islamic militants following the fall of the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan in 2001. Also, Pearl had been researching a radical Islamic leader prior to his murder and was in search for potential interviewees for the news article he was writing. He reached out to new contacts and made himself accessible in terrorist-filled Pakistan.
Pearl’s dismembered body parts were discovered in a shallow grave soon after a gruesome video of his beheading was delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi. Meanwhile, from behind bars, Saeed continued to make public statements. He gave an interview to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph in which he pledged allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar and said, “I’m trying to prepare myself to be of real service to the ‘ummah’ [Muslim nation] if I get another chance.”
In 2002, The Sunday Times reported that Sheikh “shouted out to reporters during one of his court appearances he was behind other crimes, including blowing up the Kashmir parliament in October last year, the attack on India’s parliament last December—which almost resulted in a war between India and Pakistan—the kidnapping of Indian businessmen for ransom, and the attack on the American Cultural Centre in Calcutta in January.”
In 2020, a Pakistani court overturned Sheikh’s death sentence. Less than a year later, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered his release. The court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis—Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil, and Salman Saqib—who had been sentenced to life in prison for their role in Pearl’s kidnapping and murder.
According to the Associated Press, ”The case seems certain to test the new Biden administration’s skill in dealing with Pakistan, considered a key ally in getting peace in neighboring Afghanistan.” Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl family’s lawyer, said in 2021 that the only legal avenue available at that time was to ask for a review of the court’s decision to uphold Sheikh’s acquittal. However, he said the review would be conducted by the same court that made the decision. “In practical terms,” that means the case is closed in Pakistan, he said.
Despite these practices, Pakistan has been one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid. From 2001 until the second Obama Administration, Pakistan received billions of dollars of U.S. military aid. The aid ostensibly had certain goals, such as assisting Pakistan in fighting terrorism, and developing a democratic government that would create peace inside the country and with its neighbors. However, despite billions of dollars towards these aims, none of these goals have been achieved.
In September 2023, U.S. Representative Andy Ogles proposed an amendment to the House of Representatives’ annual appropriations legislation which would bar U.S. aid to Pakistan in order to discourage its ongoing crackdown on political dissent. A total of 298 Representatives voted against the proposed amendment, while 132 voted in favor.
Meanwhile, Pakistan remains a major global center of Islamist terrorism.
Pearl’s legacy as a courageous investigative journalist, a proud Jew, and an American citizen will live on forever. Yet, his brutal murder 22 years ago has been echoes in the October 7 massacre in Israel, the increasing prevalence of antisemitic incidents, and the global pro-Hamas marches. The U.S. and British governments’ lack of sufficient response to the kidnapping and beheading of a U.S. citizen, perpetrated by a Pakistani Muslim born in England, conveys a clear message to Islamists regarding their potential violence against Jews, journalists, Americans, and other Westerners.
If the British and U.S. governments truly opposed Islamist terrorism and jihadist crimes—including those committed against their own citizens—how would they react to Pakistan’s open and proud protection and release of those terrorists? Their silence and inaction suggests something quite disturbing indeed.
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