Pakistani authorities renewed the detention orders on Thursday for four men whose convictions in the kidnapping and killing of US journalist Daniel Pearl had been overturned, meaning they will remain jailed at least three more months, an official said.
A Karachi court sparked outrage in April when it acquitted British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other men convicted in Pearl's 2002 kidnapping and beheading.
The men were kept in custody following their acquittals, under a law allowing authorities to detain high-profile militants for three months.
"We have received orders from the (provincial) government for them to be detained for a further three months," a prisons official in Karachi's Sindh province told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan's supreme court is expected to hear an appeal of the acquittal cases in September.
Pearl, 38, was South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002 while researching a story about Islamist militants.
A graphic video showing his decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in the city nearly a month later.
Observers at the time said the killers were acting out of revenge for Pakistan's support of the US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.
6.9K views · 135 reactions | I’m genuinely shocked and saddened by reports that Will Jackson, Conservative candidate for North Harrow in the elections next month, has told British-born Asian MPs like Rishi Sunak and Shabana Mahmood that they are “not British” and should “go back to Pakistan,” He also suggested figures like Anthony Joshua and Dua Lipa aren’t British.I have raised this important matter in Parliament today, because there is no place for racism in our politics.I’m proud of Harrow’s diverse, close-knit communities. Every candidate should seek to unite people, not divide them.This matter must be taken seriously. I welcome the Conservative Party’s statement that Mr Jackson’s comments are wholly unacceptable and their decision to suspend him.But serious questions remain about how he was selected as a candidate in the first place, and why he was considered fit to represent our community.https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/13/conservative-candidate-tells-british-mps-to-go-back-to-pakistan/🎥 👇 | Gareth Thomas MP 
