NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
K J M Varma in Islamabad
In a breakthrough of sorts in the abduction of American journalist Daniel Pearl, Pakistan police arrested a telephone caller who demanded a $2 million ransom from the US consulate in Karachi and two others who had sent email messages to media offices over the fate of the Wall Street Journal reporter.
Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider said in an interview that that the person, who on Friday called the US consulate in Karachi demanding a $2 million ransom for the release of Pearl, had been arrested.
He said that the arrested person had been shifted to Karachi, where he would be interrogated by a joint team of American and Pakistani officials.
"We have allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take part both in the investigation and interrogation," he said.
He also said that two suspects, who had sent emails to media organisations, had been rounded up in Karachi. "We thought that the emails were emanating from their houses," he said.
Haider said all the detained people were Pakistanis and they did not belong to any religious group.
The interior minister also said that Islamabad had not yet got a conclusive proof of India's involvement in the attack.
"We do not have conclusive evidence yet...but there are indications that India is behind the abduction of the journalist."
Tell us what you think of this report
Call India
