Pakistanis arrest man for Pearl murder

Pakistani police said yesterday they had arrested a man wanted in connection with the kidnapping and killing of the journalist Daniel Pearl.

Pakistani police said yesterday they had arrested a man wanted in connection with the kidnapping and killing of the journalist Daniel Pearl.

Malik Tasaddaq, 28, who was captured in Punjab province on Friday, carried a bounty of one million rupees (£13,000) for information leading to his arrest. A second alleged militant named as Nadir Khan was arrested in a separate incident, but he is not thought to be connected to the Pearl case.

Daniel Pearl, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted in January 2002 in Karachi, while researching links between Islamic militants in Pakistan and Richard Reid, the British-born "shoe-bomber" who tried to blow up a passenger plane using explosives hidden in his shoe.

Pearl's kidnappers filmed themselves slitting his throat in front of a video camera, and then dumped his body.

A Pakistani court convicted the British-born Islamic militant Omar Saeed Sheikh of arranging his kidnapping and killing, along with two accomplices. But seven other men wanted in connection with the case, including those filmed cutting Pearl's throat, have never been caught.

The Wall Street Journal has since quoted US officials as saying that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, an alleged senior leader of al-Qa'ida who was captured in Pakistan, was involved in Pearl's abduction and killing. Pakistani police denied he was involved.

The truth about Pearl remains murky, and there was little information about Mr Tasaddaq. Police said he is a member of Lashkar-e Jhangvi, a banned militant group. It is said to have links to the Taliban and is accused of carrying out attacks against Paki- stan's Shia minority, Westerners and government officials.