Police: Pearl Suspect Admits al-Qaida Ties
An Islamic militant accused of arranging an initial meeting between a slain Wall Street Journal reporter and his kidnappers has confessed to working with high-level al-Qaida operatives, police said Saturday. Pakistani police arrested Hashim Qadeer on July 28 in the eastern city of Gujranwala in connection with Daniel Pearl’s murder. Pearl was kidnapped on Jan. 23, 2002, in the southern city of Karachi and later beheaded. “He (Qadeer) … confessed to receiving guidance and instructions from al-Qaida’s men like Ahmed Omar Sheikh and Amjad Hussain Farooqi,” Zafar Abbas, Gujranwala’s police chief, told The Associated Press. Full Story