February 1, 2002 Posted: 7:11 PM EST (0011 GMT)
The group's e-mails have contained pictures of Pearl, some of which show a gun pointed at his head
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials said Friday there are reasons to be skeptical about both the e-mail that claims kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl has been killed and a telephone call reportedly demanding a ransom for his life.
The e-mail message is unlike previous ones sent by those claiming to hold Pearl, U.S. officials said, suggesting it may have come from a different source. The message sent Friday, for example, did not include photographs, had better spelling and differed in other ways than previous e-mails, according to officials.
Still, the officials stressed it is premature to draw any definitive conclusions. "It could be a hoax," said one official. "We certainly hope so."
The report that Pearl's captors have killed him sparked a search of cemeteries around the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Friday, but with no evidence to back up the claim. The message, e-mailed to news organizations Friday, warned that his abductors were "thirsty for the blood of another American."
Officials also said the telephone call to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad demanding a $2 million ransom for Pearl within 36 hours. But the call was cut off before the caller could state where and how the money should be handed over -- suggesting to U.S. officials that it also may have been a hoax.
Searching graveyards in Karachi
The group that claims to hold Pearl -- which calls itself The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty -- sent e-mails to the media on Thursday saying it would kill the Wall Street Journal reporter if its demands were not met. The threat originally was issued Wednesday, but delayed a day.
The group has demanded the release of all Pakistanis held by the United States as a result of the war on terrorism, including those held at Guantanamo, Cuba. The group has accused Pearl of working for the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency -- a claim authorities have said is untrue.
A Wall Street Journal spokesman said, "We have seen the reports, and we remain hopeful they are not true."
Meanwhile, police in Karachi said that along with ransom demand, the group also demanded U.S. forces release the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Salam Zaeef. Police said the call came in at about the same time the e-mail claiming Pearl had been killed reached news organizations.
Pakistani police said officers were searching more than 200 graveyards for Pearl's body.
"We have nothing to confirm that he's dead," said Tariq Jamil, the deputy inspector general of the Karachi police.
Diplomatic efforts
U.S. President Bush said Friday "we have some leads," including e-mails sent by Pearl's captors.
"We are very concerned about The Wall Street Journal reporter," Bush said during a photo opportunity with Jordan's King Abdullah II. "We've been in touch with the Pakistani government; we've been in touch with the Wall Street Journal. We've got both our agencies in the area actively involved in trying to rescue him."
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he has been in touch with Pakistan's president about the case. He told reporters Thursday that the United States is doing everything it can to win Pearl's release, but is unwilling to meet the demands of the kidnappers.
He said officials were working to determine the validity of the claims made in the e-mail.
"Obviously, we can't confirm it. Hopefully, it's not true. I hope they realize they are holding an innocent man," Powell said as he was leaving a New York hotel.
"If it's not true, hopefully he can be released to his family soon," said Powell.
Louis Farrakhan, the head of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam, appealed for Pearl's release Friday. In a written statement, Farrakhan said that "to execute or murder this man will increase hatred for Islam and damage the reputation of Muslims throughout the world."
Farrakhan also urged the United States to declare detainees it now holds as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali -- perhaps America's most famous Muslim -- appealed for Pearl's release earlier this week.
Along with the released of all Pakistanis help by the United States, Pearl's abductors have ordered other American journalists to get out of Pakistan in three days, a deadline which expires Saturday.
Pakistan and India
The Pearl abduction continued to stir up diplomatic controversy Friday. Pakistani officials made further suggestions of Indian involvement in the kidnapping of Pearl, despite New Delhi's insistence the charge is "ridiculous."
CNN ARE WORLD CLASS MAJOR LEAGUE IDIOTS. DRUDGE STILL HAS THEIR CLAIM ON HIS SITE. I PRAY THEY LET DANIEL GO.
This is curious to me.... I guess the Fox money trumps leftist ideology.
However, after a commercial break, a stunned Goodnow slowly intoned that 'we have learned that President George Bush...' and then a voice from off camera screamed, "NO! WAIT!" Goodnow turned his head, quickly turned back to the camera, and went on to the next scheduled item.
It was later disclosed that someone had phoned in a "confirmation" that Bush had died in the hospital. Goodnow was one second from infamy at that moment, and someone saved him.
CNN is nothing more than a video tabloid. The National Inquirer is more accurate and more sensitive. My teenage sons and I just had a long discussion about responsibility in this context although the absence of malice part of the discussion left them a bit confused. Oh well youth.