Key suspect in WSJ reporter’s kidnapping surrenders
Press Trust of India Posted online: Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 1146 hours IST Updated: , hours IST
Islamabad, January 31: A key suspect in the kidnapping of American journalist Daniel Pearl has surrendered to police pleading to be innocent but at the same time admitting a role in recruiting and training militants to fight in Kashmir and other places.
As the media here and the Wall Street Journal for which Pearl worked for, received fresh e-mail messages on Thursday from his captors giving a 24-hour deadline to kill him, a local Al-Qaida activist from Rawalpindi, considered a prime suspect in the case, surrendered to police Wednesday night.
Pakistan daily The News reported on Thursday that the police, failed to get anything substantial from the surrendered suspect, Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilnai, the leader of defunct Jamiat al Fuqra.
Gilani claimed that he had nothing to do with Pearl's abduction.
Gilani, who was found absconding, was believed to be the last man the US journalist reportedly met before he went missing few days ago. This raised suspicion that he was connected with the kidnapping.
After surrendering to police in Rawalpindi, Gilani was taken to Karachi where he was interrogated by the Pakistan police and American FBI agents.
His extradition to the US was ruled out, the newspaper said.
