LONDON: General Pervez Musharraf has disclosed that Omar Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered American journalist Daneil Pearl and is now facing death penalty, was actually the British secret Agency MI6’s agent and had executed certain missions on their behest before coming to Pakistan and visiting Afghanistan to meet Osama and Mullah Omar.
General Musharraf’s book has also given a new twist to the whole drama of kidnppaing and murder of American journalists as many believe here Briton national Omar Sheikh might use Musharraf’s memoir to plea his innocence after, quite surprisingly, Musharraf tried to give a clean chit to Omar despite his role in kidnapping which is punishable with death in Pakistan.
It has been reported that General Musharraf has written in his book that while Omar Sheikh was at the London School of Economics (LSE), he was recruited by the British intelligence agency MI6, which persuaded him to take an active part in demonstrations against Serbian aggression in Bosnia and even sent him to Kosovo to join the jihad. At some point, he probably became a rogue or double agent.
The local media is discussing the possibility that Omar would use evidence from President Musharraf’s memoirs to save himself from the hangman. General Musharraf appeared to exonerate Omar Sheikh in his book In the Line of Fire, Sheikh, 32, who was brought up in Wanstead, east London, has been on death row since 2003 after being convicted of orchestrating the kidnap and murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter.
The Times, which is carrying extracts of Musharraf autobiography has reported that General Musharraf appears to have changed his mind about the Briton’s guilt, saying he now believes that the man who beheaded the American hostage was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
The Times has reported that Rai Bashir, Sheikh’s lawyer, said that he intended to use the memoir to force a new appeal hearing. The Times report said General Musharraf appears to contradict the original claim that the British militant callously planned Pearl’s murder, saying: “Only later did I realise that Omar Sheikh had panicked because the situation had spiralled out of his control.” Bashir said: “After reading the book, if I feel necessary, I will quote the book in my arguments in favour of my client. It can be used as evidence.” Three other men jailed for life for their part in the crime have lodged appeals.
Giving the full account of circumstances, leading to murder of American journalist, General Musharraf writes in January 2002 that the world’s media received e-mails, saying that the journalist Daniel Pearl had been kidnapped. The ransom demands included the release and return to Pakistan of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
The e-mails also stated: “We tell Americans that they shall never be safe on the Muslim Land of Pakistan. And if our demands are not met this scene shall be repeated again and again.”
I was incensed when I learnt of this, disgusted that these criminals were distorting a religion of peace and beauty and using it as a cloak for their sins. I immediately ordered all agencies to find Pearl’s kidnappers and the e-mails were traced to a man named Omar Saeed Sheikh.
The Wall Street Journal informed us that Pearl, who had arrived in Pakistan on December 29, 2001, with his wife, Marianne, had come to interview Pir Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani in connection with the story of the so-called shoe bomber, the Briton Richard Reid.
Our police detained and interrogated Jilani, who told them that Omar Sheikh had been very eager to meet the journalist. With this second mention of Omar Sheikh’s name, it seemed clear that he was involved.
Omar Sheikh is a British national born to Pakistani parents in London on December 23, 1973. His early education was in the United Kingdom although he also spent four years at Lahore’s prestigious Atchison College. He then went to the London School of Economics (LSE) but dropped out before graduation.
It is believed in some quarters that while Omar Sheikh was at the LSE, he was recruited by the British intelligence agency MI6. It is said that MI6 persuaded him to take an active part in demonstrations against Serbian aggression in Bosnia and even sent him to Kosovo to join the jihad. At some point he probably became a rogue or double agent.
On his return from Bosnia, he came to Pakistan, then had guerrilla training in Khost in Afghanistan. In 1994 he was arrested in India as part of a gang which kidnapped four Western tourists. He was released in 1999 as part of a deal to secure the safety of passengers aboard a hijacked Indian airliner.
After his release Omar Sheikh settled in Lahore but visited Afghanistan on four occasions to train operatives. He claims that during these visits, he met Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, and that although he was not a permanent member of al-Qaeda, he helped to finance it through ransom money generated from kidnappings.
In January 2002, Sheikh was informed that journalist Pearl had turned up at the offices of extremist organisations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He arranged a meeting with Pearl at which the two exchanged telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
It was at this meeting that an idea cropped up in Omar Sheikh’s twisted mind. He would kidnap Pearl to pressure the US government to change its policies on Guantanamo Bay. We had been looking for Omar Sheikh since the e-mails, but at first he could not be traced, although the police did arrest some of his friends and relatives.
Finally, on February 5, 2002, Omar Sheikh surrendered and under interrogation revealed that when his family members were arrested, he became desperate. He phoned an accomplice in Karachi named Hussein and told him to release Daniel Pearl. He claimed he was then told that Daniel Pearl had been killed.
