KARACHI, Aug 5: The remains of the slain US journalist Daniel Pearl, which were kept at Edhi Home, were transferred to a coffin provided by the US officials on Monday to be flown either to the United States or France, in a few days, police sources said.
The body was handed over to the US officials after a DNA report confirmed that it was that of Daniel Pearl’s.
The journalist’s remains were exhumed by the police from a farmhouse in Gulzar-i-Hijri, Gadap Town, on May 17 in the presence of a judicial magistrate, a six-member medical board, and the US officials.
“The viscera were sent for medical examinations and DNA test after which its identity was established,” the officials added.
In addition to the body parts, three pieces of rope in green colour, three blue plastic bags, and certain other things were also recovered, he added.
He said the compound comprised an open space with two small rooms. In one room there were blood stains and samples of which were also sent for medical examinations. Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had gone missing in Karachi on Jan 23 in mysterious circumstances. He had told his wife, Marianne Pearl, that he was going to interview Pir Mubarak Shah Gilani, but did not return. On Feb 21, the Sindh government confirmed that the kidnapped US reporter, Daniel Pearl, had died.
“On Feb 21, around 11pm, a video tape was received. The recorded video contained scenes showing Pearl in captivity and scenes of his murder by the kidnappers. The tape appears to be correct,” a spokesman for the Sindh home department had said.
The police had named British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh as a key suspect earlier. Omar was arrested in Lahore and was later awarded death sentence for kidnapping and killing of Pearl. His three accomplices — Fahad Naseem, Syed Salman Saquib and Shaikh Mohammad Adil — were given life terms.
The disclosure of the result of the DNA test has come after the verdict of the court. The official added that four other suspects, believed to have killed Daniel, have also been arrested. But did not disclose their names.