ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan was Wednesday urged to place the matter related to release of accused allegedly involved in the murder of Daniel Pearl before another bench of the apex court.

During the hearing, Advocate General for Sindh Salman Talib-ud-Din appeared before a three-member bench of the apex court which is hearing the appeals against the Sindh High Court judgment, submitted that the Sindh government has filed a petition regarding preventive detention of the accused.

Justice Mushir Alam, who was heading the bench, said to the AG Sindh that as they were hearing the appeals against the main judgment of the SHC, therefore, taking up this issue, at this stage, would prejudice the case. The bench, therefore, referred the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmad to place the application against the SHC release order before another bench.

Later, the bench adjourned the hearing till today in this matter.

Ahmed Omer Sheikh, Fahad Naseem and others accused on 7th January had filed an application under Order XXXIII Rule VI, Supreme Court Rules, 1980, to clarify the SC order dated 28-09-2020 regarding their release.

Senior Advocate Mehmood A Sheikh, counsel of the main accused [Omer Sheikh], contended that the case has been heard on different dates on after 07-10-2020 on daily basis and no order on any of these dates was passed ‘to not to release the petitioners.’

The counsel submitted that the detention of the accused is on an erroneous assumption of an order of this august court to ‘not to release the petitioners’ needs to be clarified and a direction may be issued accordingly.

The SHC on December 24, 2020 had set aside the provincial government’s preventive detention order of four accused, which it had ordered eight months ago to set them free.

Despite the SHC order dated 24-12-2020, the Chief Secretary government of Sindh, Additional Chief Secretary Home Department, Sindh, Senior Superintendent Central Jail, Karachi, and Senior Superintendent Central Jail Sukkar refused to release the accused albeit the direction in the said order lapsed on 07-10-2020 and was never extended thereafter, submitted the counsel. He informed that the Senior Central Jail Karachi has in this regard sent a letter to apex court seeking instructions whether this Court has extended the detention of the accused.

A division bench of the SHC, Karachi, on 2nd April 2020 acquitted the accused Ahmad Omer Saeed Sheikh, Adil Sheikh, Salman Saqib and Fahad Nasim. It also held that the subject case does not fall within the purview of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and Omer Sheikh is entitled to both remissions in accordance with law and the benefit of Section 382-B, Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.

Trial Court on 15-07-2002 had convicted Ahmad Omer Saeed Sheikh and awarded him death sentence, while Adil Sheikh, Salman Saqib and Fahad Nasim were given life imprisonment under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.