A rchive Date
[ 02-03-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Pakistan ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html
Swift 'justice'
Let Pakistan try killer of Daniel Pearl
By PETER WORTHINGTON - Toronto Sun
March 2, 2002
Why are the Americans so determined to extradite from Pakistan the alleged terrorist mastermind who murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl?
Why not have him tried in Pakistan, scene of the crime? While Pakistan has no formal extradition treaty with the U.S., there is a process known as "rendition" by which suspect terrorists have been quietly turned over to the Americans.
So it's reasonable that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh could wind up in American custody. This guy apparently holds dual citizenship in Pakistan and Britain. He is British-educated (private schools and the London School of Economics ) and is bad news all round.
Why would the Americans want him, so long as they're assured he gets the "justice" he deserves?
He and those who murdered Pearl are more likely to be dealt with swiftly and decisively in Pakistan than in America. A U.S. court would throw out his confession because it wasn't under oath.
If Saeed and others are tried in the U.S., it'll be a circus, with the usual cast of criminal lawyers pulling every stunt to thwart justice with enormous publicity for themselves. Look at the O.J. Simpson case, and every high-profile murder trial in America.
If Saeed and others (when they are caught) are tried in America and sentenced to death - they'll likely live 10-20 years on death row before they are executed, giving interviews, writing books, becoming symbols while their cases go through contortions of endless appeals.
Reliable leaders
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf - one of the stalwart and reliable leaders of the Muslim world (one hopes he survives) - wants religious extremism curtailed in his country.
The Pakistani judicial system would waste little time dealing with these guys.
Longevity on death row in Pakistan is rare.
President Musharraf is the hope of Pakistan. Ironically, before Sept. 11, Canada imposed economic and cultural sanctions against him, courtesy of Lloyd Axworthy, now thankfully retired.
Musharraf is under no illusions about Islamic countries. At a conference for science and technology, attended by ministers from Muslim countries, he noted that Islam, unlike other great religions, hasn't adapted to the changing world, but remains rooted in the 12th century.
He said: "Today we are the poorest, the most illiterate, the most backward, the most unhealthy, the most unenlightened, the most deprived and the weakest of all the human race." He said no one was to blame except themselves. (For more, check Musharraf on Google.com).
Unless Musharraf fears unrest in his own country if the trial is held there, America would be wise to trust Pakistani justice.
If Saeed knows a lot about al-Qaida, he's likely to tell more under interrogation in Pakistan than in the U.S.
Videotapes of Pearl's murder and beheading will soon be on sale in souks and bazaars across the Muslim world.
Special horror
The kidnap-murder defiles Pakistan and Islam as well as America. There's special horror - not because Pearl was a journalist, since like soldiers risk comes with the territory - but because Saeed is educated and has confessed, at first insisting Pearl was alive when he was already dead.
There's no reason why justice shouldn't be swift and decisive. It used to be that way, with death sentences carried out quickly.
Now in America there's years, even decades of waiting before an execution is carried out.
This can be unjust, too, because a dozen years later, a killer may not be the same personality as when he committed the deed.
Ironically, if Ahmed Omar Saeed were caught in Canada, we wouldn't allow his extradition if he faced the death penalty.
If guilty, the sooner this guy and others rendezvous in Islamic paradise where 72 virgins supposedly await, the less likely they'll be regarded as martyrs.
Pakistan is more sensible in this than we are.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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