Musharraf says India suspected in Pearl case
Reuters
Washington, February 9
Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf said Indian intelligence agencies are suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of reporter Daniel Pearl, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.
Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, went missing in Karachi on January 23 as he attempted to make contact with radical Islamic groups.
"It's very much a possibility that it has been done by the Indians, orchestrated by the Indians. That's what we are looking into," Musharraf told the Post in a Friday interview.
Musharraf spoke to the Post before leaving for an official visit to Washington due to start on Tuesday. He will first spend two days in Boston with his son.
Pakistani investigators have recently identified Sheik Omar Saeed, a well-known Islamic militant, as a chief suspect in the kidnapping. Musharraf alleged that "indirect indications" suggest Saeed could have been acting in concert with India, the Post reported.
Musharraf expressed sympathy for Pearl and said he regretted the kidnapping. "I feel so sorry for this Daniel Pearl and his wife -- what a terrible thing. I feel sorry and I feel bad for my country even, because it does create such images, which is not the truth."
Pakistani police said on Friday that they had formally arrested three men in Karachi in connection with Pearl's disappearance.
What drugs was Mush-head on? Why would anyone with half a brain even claim that the terrorist, who was freed from an Indian jail in a hijacking orchestrated by the ISI, could be acting in concert with India? It's about time we hold the Pakis accountable! |
