February 19, 2002	Tuesday	Zilhaj 6, 1422

WASHINGTON, Feb 17: The suspected mastermind of the plot to kidnap Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is the target of an active grand jury investigation in the United States, and Washington may ask for his extradition, Newsweek magazine reported.

The report in the issue due out on Monday quotes Justice Department sources as saying the grand jury is looking at the Pearl abduction as well as other kidnapping plots involving US citizens, in which Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed could have played a role.

Sheikh Omar, who is now in Pakistani authorities’ custody, could be indicted in a matter of weeks, and the United States would then seek his extradition from Pakistan, according to Newsweek. Omar told a court as he was remanded Thursday that the 38-year-old US reporter was dead, but investigators doubt his claim, saying it cannot be verified.—AFP