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Timeline: The Kidnapping of Daniel Pearl

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Jan. 23, 2002: Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, 38, disappears after arranging to meet Muslim fundamentalist Sheik Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani in Karachi, Pakistan.

Jan. 27: The Wall Street Journal and other media receive an e-mail from a group calling itself the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty. The e-mail contains a photo of Pearl with a gun to his head and demands the release from U.S. custody of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and Afghanistan's former ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef. The group also accuses Pearl of being a spy for the CIA.

Jan. 28: The WSJ sends an e-mail pleading for Pearl's release.

Jan. 30: The WSJ and other media receive a second e-mail warning that Pearl will be killed within 24 hours. The deadline is later extended to 48 hours. Gilani is arrested in Pakistan but claims no involvement.

Jan. 31: Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States will not negotiate. Former Boxer Muhammad Ali calls for Pearl's release.

Feb. 1: Phone call demanding $2 million and Zaeef's freedom in return for Pearl's release is deemed a hoax. CNN and Fox News receive hoax e-mails claiming Pearl is dead.

Feb. 2: WSJ issues an open letter calling for Pearl's release.

Feb. 4: Pearl's wife, Mariane, a French free-lance journalist who is seven months pregnant, appeals for his freedom.

Feb. 6: Pakistani police identify Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, an Islamic militant with a history of kidnapping foreigners, as a prime suspect in Pearl's kidnapping.

Feb. 7: Three men are charged with sending the original e-mails.

Feb. 12: Saeed is arrested in eastern Pakistan and flown to Karachi for questioning.

Feb. 13: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he believes Pearl is still alive.

Feb. 14: Saeed confesses to the kidnapping and says Pearl is already dead. Pakistan rejects Saeed's claim.

Feb. 21: The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan receives proof of Pearl's death. President Bush decries killing, saying such crimes "only deepen the resolve of the United States" to fight terrorism.