Four Islamic militants in court in Pearl murder case

Escorted by dozens of heavily armed policemen, three Islamic militants believed to have participated in the abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl appeared in court today and were ordered jailed for two more weeks while prosecutors develop their case.

The accused had been expected to face murder and kidnapping charges, but in a closed door hearing, the judge delayed the charges to give police a chance to recover Pearl's body, said Raja Quereshi, the chief prosecutor.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind behind Pearl's abduction and murder, and two of his alleged accomplices arrived at a courthouse in the southern port city of Karachi in two armored personnel carriers that were part of an eight­vehicle convoy.

The faces of each of the suspects were covered in white cloth.

In their hunt for the remaining suspects, police believe they may have found a link to Osama bin Laden's al­Qa'ida terrorist network, citing the involvement of three Arabs who were allegedly seen accompanying a key suspect.

Meanwhile, Newsweek magazine has reported that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the suspected mastermind behind Pearl's abduction and murder, was secretly indicted last year by a US federal grand jury for a foiled 1994 kidnapping.

The murder charges against the four militants will be included in an interim charge sheet to be presented in court on Monday. The suspects had already been charged with kidnapping. The murder charges are being added after US and Pakistani authorities on Friday revealed the contents of a grisly videotape showing Pearl's body.

The body has not been found, and several suspects remain at large.

Those appearing in the special terrorist court on Monday are Saeed and three men accused of sending e­mails announcing the January 23 kidnapping. They had already surrendered or been arrested by the time the videotape became public. The tape does not indicate when or where the slaying took place.

During Monday's proceedings, prosecutors will file preliminary charges, the court will decide whether to transfer the suspects from a police holding cell to a jail, and a judge will be assigned to try the case, said Khawaja Naveed, defence attorney for the three suspected e­mailers.

Kidnapping and murder are capital offenses in Pakistan, carrying the death penalty.

Mohammed Aslam, Adeel's brother, insisted on Monday that Adeel was innocent but confirmed that his brother has been involved in Islamic "holy war" activities for years. As early as December, he said Adeel spent time in Afghanistan to support that country's now ousted Taliban regime.

With Saeed in jail, the prime target of a massive police dragnet is Amjad Faruqi, whom Pearl apparently knew as Imtiaz Siddiqi and who is believed to have carried out the kidnapping. A senior police investigator said one detainee said he met Faruqi several times and each time Faruqi was accompanied by three Arabs.