KARACHI, March 15: The Sindh High Court adjourned on Tuesday hearing of appeals in the Daniel Pearl murder case on the request of counsel for the main accused, Ahmed Omar Shaikh.

As a bench, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Azizullah M. Memon, took up the long pending appeals, Omar Shaikh’s counsel, Abdul Waheed Katpar, sought adjournment to a date in office to enable his client to move an application for recording additional evidence at the appellate stage.

He said according to the accused applicant, new material has been found by him to seek his acquittal.

The counsel said he had received a letter from the appellant’s father, Saeed Shaikh, that he should withdraw his power of attorney (vikalatnama) if he was unable to request an adjournment. He had hinted at his withdrawal while seeking adjournment on the last date. The bench asked him to guide his client and have greater control on the conduct of his case.

Special public prosecutor Raja Qureshi opposed the adjournment and described the plea as a delaying tactic. He said the appeals had long been pending and had come up on several dates before a number of appellate benches. No new material had been placed on record by the appellant, he said.

The bench adjourned the hearing to a date in office.