Pursuing Pearl's Killers

By Unmesh Kher

Still reeling from the gruesome murder of Daniel Pearl, Pakistan's leaders found themselves further embarrassed last week by revelations that the Wall Street Journal reporter's abduction might have been prevented. It turns out the U.S. requested the detention of the prime suspect, Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, twice between Sept. 11 and the day Pearl was kidnapped, in each case to no avail. So when President Bush and his spokesman, Ari Fleischer, suggested last Monday that the U.S. wanted Saeed, they touched a handful of raw nerves in Pakistan. By midweek, Fleischer was toning down his rhetoric and indicating that some sort of understanding would be reached.

Saeed's immediate extradition seems unlikely. For starters, the crime took place in Pakistan. Moreover, under Pakistani law it's illegal to extradite a suspect once court proceedings have begun. But should some legal loophole make that possible, Saeed would still have the right to appeal the extradition--keeping the case stuck in Pakistan's courts for a while.

This works out rather well for the national leaders involved. President Pervez Musharraf, who has cracked down on Islamist militancy under U.S. pressure, is reluctant to further annoy Pakistan's well-armed radicals. Already, police and several investigators have been threatened. An attack on a police bus carrying 20 militants left one dead, and gunmen believed to be Sunni Muslims slaughtered 11 Shi'a worshippers at a mosque in Rawalpindi. The U.S., for its part, has ample reason not to rush the extradition of Pearl's murderers. Some in the Administration are worried that forcing the issue would be counterproductive, exacerbating anti-Americanism and offending nationalist sensibilities by suggesting Pakistan's legal system isn't up to the task. The resulting backlash, they fear, would cripple efforts to hunt down al-Qaeda operatives in the region. Admits a senior U.S. official: "As horrendous as [Pearl's murder] is, we have to think long term."

--By Unmesh Kher. Reported by Hannah Bloch/Islamabad and Elaine Shannon/Washington

With reporting by Hannah Bloch/Islamabad and Elaine Shannon/Washington