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Pakistani Police: Indian Involvement Possible In Reporter's Kidnapping
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| Pakistan says India is behind disappearance of Wall Street Journal correspondent, Daniel Pearl |
By IOL correspondent in Pakistan, Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Jan. 29 (Islam Online) - Pakistani police said Tuesday the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, could not be ruled out in the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, who was kidnapped in Karachi Wednesday, January 23, 2002.
"We are working on all the aspects, including the involvement of RAW in this case", Syed Kamal Ahmed Shah, Inspector General Police (IGP) of Southern Sindh Province told Islam Online.
"This might be a calculated conspiracy to malign Pakistan's image and threaten the foreigners, especially (foreign) investors," Shah said. "Therefore, we are working on all the possibilities, including involvement of foreign hand in kidnapping."
Replying to a question, the IGP said, "At this stage, it is very difficult to say something with authenticity either he (Pearl) was kidnapped or illegally detained. He came in Karachi on January 21, disappeared on January 23, and had been dangerously hasty to meet alleged Al-Qaeda members and Taliban supporters."
"He should not have done that without informing the government and police officials," Shah maintained. He said "he (Pearl) might have been invited by the people whom he was eager to meet with and was detained illegally. As per law, this action could not be called kidnapping."
Shah said that two special teams had been working intensively in Karachi and Islamabad to locate the abducted journalist, and according to the latest investigations, he could be in or around Islamabad.
An e-mail message sent by a group calling itself the National Movement for Restoration of Pakistan's Sovereignty to news organizations on Monday, accused Pearl of being a CIA agent and set several conditions for his release.
Among the conditions are demands for the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners taken from Afghanistan to Cuba and the release of the F-16 fighter jets that Pakistan bought from the United States in the 1980s. The fighter jets were not delivered after Congress in 1990 cut off aid and military sales to Pakistan in response to the country's moves to develop nuclear weapons.
Two of the pictures sent with the e-mail message show Pearl in wrist and ankle shackles. In one, a gun is pointed at his head. Another shows a Thursday issue of the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn. However, Pakistani secret agencies are skeptical about the credibility of the pictures.
"This might be a computer graphic aimed at diverting the attention of investigation agencies", a top interior ministry official told Islam Online. Both Journal executives and the CIA issued statements denying that Pearl, 38, had any past or present relationship with the agency.
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