Kidnapped reporter seen as blow to Pakistani president

by Kathy Gannon
The Associated Press

KARACHI, Pakistan - The kidnapping of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl is widely seen as an attempt to strike a dramatic blow at Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for getting tough on Islamic militants and siding with the United States in the war against terrorism.

Many Pakistanis, including security officials and political analysts, fear the Jan. 23 kidnapping may be followed by other moves by extremists seeking to undermine Musharraf.

Appearing before a judge Thursday, chief suspect Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh admitted his role in the kidnapping.

"I think that our country shouldn’t be catering to America's needs," he added.

Islamic radicals had been suspected of the kidnapping since Pearl disappeared on his way to meet a Muslim activist as part of a story on links between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, arrested in December aboard a Paris to Miami flight with explosives in his shoes.

Police said yesterday they detained four people for questioning overnight but at this point do not consider them suspects.

Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani intelligence officer familiar with Islamic militant organizations, said he believes Pearl, with whom he had spoken by telephone several times, became an innocent victim in the struggle between Musharraf and the extremists driven by hatred of the United States.