Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh appears at the court in Karachi, Pakistan. File/AP

Gulf Today Report

A Pakistani provincial court on Thursday has ordered the immediate release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh declaring his connection with the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl null and void, said reports.

The court had earlier accepted Sheikh’s appeal against the death penalty and commuted his sentence to seven years in prison. He already had served more. He will now walk free.

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The Sindh High Court earlier this year overturned the murder charge and ordered Sheikh freed. Pearl’s family have appealed the acquittal as has the Pakistan government. The Supreme Court is hearing the appeal and will resume its hearing on Jan.5.

A view of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad, Pakistan. File/Reuters

The court has also ordered immediate release of Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib.

"The detention order is struck down,” said Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl family lawyer. Sheikh will be freed until the appeal is completed, he said, but will be returned to prison if the family is successful in overturning the acquittal.

Sheikh was sentenced to death and three others were sentenced to life in prison for their role in the plot. But in April, the Sindh High Court acquitted him and three others, a move that stunned the US government, Pearl’s family and journalism advocacy groups.