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Pearl murder suspect killed Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1100691364504http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1100691364504
Nov. 17, 2004 15:17 | Updated Nov. 17, 2004 21:22
Terrorist involved in Pearl kidnapping killed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KARACHI, Pakistan
An Islamic militant wanted in connection with the abduction and beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl was killed Wednesday in a police raid in Karachi, Pakistan, an officer said.
Asim Ghafoor died after a shootout with police and intelligence agents as they tried to arrest him at a hideout in the west of the city, said Javed Shah Bokhari, deputy inspector general of city police.
Ghafoor, who is a Pakistani, opened fire as he tried to flee but was wounded when police returned fire, and later died in a hospital, Bokhari said. Police seized a pistol that Ghafoor used in the shooting.
It was not clear what role Ghafoor might have played in the kidnapping and murder of Pearl, a Wall Street Journal correspondent who disappeared on January 23, 2002, in Karachi while researching a story on Islamic militancy in Pakistan.
The journalist's execution was videotaped and his remains were found in May that year in a shallow grave on the eastern outskirts of the city.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-born Islamic militant, has been sentenced to death for his role in kidnapping Pearl. Three other Pakistani associates have been imprisoned for life. All four have appealed their sentences.
Four other suspects wanted in the Pearl case are still at large, said Manzoor Mughal, another police official.
Bokhari said Ghafoor was a close aide of Amjad Hussain Farooqi, who was Pakistan's most wanted militant until he was killed September 26 in a shootout with security forces in the southern city of Nawabshah.
Bokhari said Ghafoor was a member of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul Mujahedeen militant groups and was a "major player" in coordinating between militant outfits. Pakistani authorities had offered a 500,000 rupee (US$8,400; 6,400) reward for information leading to Ghafoor's arrest.
In addition to the Pearl killing, Farooqi is suspected of having been behind two attempts to assassinate President Gen. Pervez Musharraf last December. Musharraf survived both attacks on his motorcades but 17 other people were killed.
"Asim Ghafoor was second-in-command for Amjad Farooqi and had a role in all the terrorist activities orchestrated by Amjad Farooqi," Bokhari said.
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