View source for Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh

{{Short description|British Islamist (born 1973)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
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| name               = Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh
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| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1973|12|23}}
| birth_place        = [[London]], England, UK
| other_names        = 
| education          = [[Forest School, Walthamstow|Forest School]]
| alma_mater         = [[London School of Economics]]<br />(dropped out)
| occupation         = 
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| employer           = 
| organization       = {{ubl|[[Harkat-ul-Ansar]]|[[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]]|[[Jaish-e-Mohammed]]}}
| known_for          = {{ubl|[[1994 kidnappings of Western tourists in India]]|Kidnapping and murder of [[Daniel Pearl]]}}
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| criminal_charges    = Kidnapping, murder
| criminal_penalty   = {{ubl|7 years imprisonment (for kidnapping)|Death (for murder), overturned}}
| criminal_status    = Imprisoned at [[Kot Lakhpat Jail]]
| spouse             = Saadia Rauf (m. 2000–present)
| partner            = 
| children           = 1 (son)
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'''Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh''' ({{langx|ur|احمد عمر سعید شیخ}}; sometimes known as '''Umar Sheikh''', '''Sheikh Omar''',<ref group="notes" name="Alternate use">Note that this term is more commonly used in reference to Sheik [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]]</ref> '''Sheik Syed''' or by the alias '''Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad''';<ref name="suspected">''CNN.com'' 6 October 2001. {{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/05/inv.terror.investigation/|title=Suspected hijack bankroller freed by India in '99|access-date=22 September 2006|publisher=CNN|date=6 October 2001|archive-date=7 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407004303/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/05/inv.terror.investigation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> born 23 December 1973) is a  [[British Pakistanis|British Pakistani]] terrorist. He became a member of the [[Islamism|Islamist]] [[Jihadism|jihadist]] group [[Harkat ul-Ansar|Harkat-ul-Ansar]] or [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] in the 1990s, and later of [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] and was closely associated with [[Al-Qaeda]].{{Efn|Harkat-ul-Ansar was the merger of [[Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami]] and [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] in 1993. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen had split from Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami 1985 but re-united, they split again 1998. [[Jaish-e-Muhammad]] was formed as a splinter group of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen by [[Masood Azhar]] in 2000.<ref>[https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/harakat-ul-mujahedeen Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen]. [[Center for International Security and Cooperation]]. [[Foreign Service Institute]]. [[Stanford University]].</ref>|name=groups}}{{Efn|All of these groups played a role in the kidnapping and murder of American journalist [[Daniel Pearl]] to varying degrees. (see [[#Daniel Pearl kidnapping]]).}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh |url=https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/ahmed-omar-saeed-sheikh |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=[[Counter Extremism Project]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

He was arrested-in-action during the [[1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India|1994 kidnappings of Western tourists in India]] and served time in Indian prisons. He was released in 1999 and was provided safe passage into Afghanistan with the support of the [[Taliban]] in exchange for passengers aboard the hijacked [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]]. He is best-known for his role in the kidnapping and subsequent murder of ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] in 2002.<ref name="MasoodNYT">{{cite news|last1=Masood|first1=Salman|title=Pakistani Court Overturns Conviction in 2002 Killing of Daniel Pearl|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/pakistan-daniel-pearl.html|work=The New York Times|date=2 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515181343/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/pakistan-daniel-pearl.html|archive-date=15 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pakistani-court-overturns-murder-conviction-in-killing-ofwall-street-journal-reporter-11585805394|title=Pakistani Court Overturns Murder Conviction in Killing of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl|first=Saeed|last=Shah|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=3 April 2020|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref>

Sheikh was arrested by Pakistani police on 12 February 2002, in [[Lahore]], in connection with the Pearl kidnapping and was sentenced to death on 15 July 2002 by a special judge of an [[Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan|anti terrorism court]] for murdering Pearl.<ref name="transcripts.cnn.com">''CNN Transcript'' {{cite news |date=7 February 2001 |title=Suspected Mastermind of Pearl Killing Arrested |publisher=CNN |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/12/bn.02.html |access-date=29 June 2006}} 12 February 2002.</ref><ref name="newsline">Ansari, Massoud. {{cite web |title=The Mystery Thickens. |url=http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsApr2005/newsp1apr2005.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207035732/http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsApr2005/newsp1apr2005.htm |archive-date=7 February 2006 |access-date=29 June 2006}} ''Newsline'' April 2005.</ref> His complicity in the murder and the reasons behind it are in dispute. At his initial court appearance, he stated, "I don't want to defend this case. I did this{{nbsp}}... Right or wrong, I had my reasons. I think that our country shouldn't be catering to America's needs",<ref name="Irish">{{cite web|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/02/15/story23151.asp|title=Kidnap journalist is dead, claims militant|access-date=29 June 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929153728/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/02/15/story23151.asp|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> but he subsequently appealed his conviction for murder, only admitting his role in the kidnapping of Pearl. Saeed's lawyer has stated he will base his client's appeal on the admission of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], made public in 2007, that he is the killer of [[Daniel Pearl]].<ref name="WashingtonPost1">{{cite news|title=Lawyer to Appeal Pearl Case Conviction |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=18 March 2007 |author=Sadaqat Jan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/18/AR2007031800413.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Daniel Pearl's murder: Omar to utilise Khalids claim |work=Daily Times |date=19 March 2007 |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C03%5C19%5Cstory_19-3-2007_pg7_5}}</ref><ref name="LawfareDidKsmKillPearl" /><ref name="PearlAnalysis" /><ref name="WashingtonPost2011-01-20" /><ref name="TheTelegraphUK2011-01-20" /> Sheikh's murder conviction was overturned (along with that of his accomplices Fahad Nasim Ahmed, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh Mohammad Adil) by Pakistan's [[Sindh High Court]] on 2 April 2020, and his seven-year sentence for kidnapping was considered as time-served.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iqbal |first=Nasir |date=27 March 2021 |title=Prosecution failed to prove guilt of main accused in Daniel Pearl case: SC |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1614840 |access-date=8 September 2022 |website=[[Dawn.com]] |language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2021|March}}, he is imprisoned at the [[Kot Lakhpat Jail]], Lahore (where he had been moved to from [[Central Prison Karachi]]) but has been moved out of [[death row]] while his acquittal for Pearl's murder is in appeal at the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bhatti |first=Haseeb |date=25 March 2021 |title=Daniel Pearl murder case: SC allows Omar Saeed Sheikh to be moved to Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1614544 |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Dawn.com|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ahmed Omar Sheikh was born in London, England on 23 December 1973 to [[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] [[Muslim]] parents, Saeed and Qaissra Sheikh, who had emigrated from Pakistan to the UK in 1968 and ran a prosperous clothing business.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/world/daniel-pearl-ahmed-omar-saeed-sheikh-profile-rajkummar-rao-omerta|title=Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the Man Rajkummar Rao Plays in 'Omerta'|first=Suktara|last=Ghosh|date=20 February 2018|website=TheQuint}}</ref> He was the eldest of three siblings and in his youth he attended [[Forest School, Walthamstow|Forest School]], an [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|independent school]] in [[Walthamstow]], a [[town]] in the [[Waltham Forest]] borough of [[List of sub-regions used in the London Plan|North-East London]], whose alumni include British [[cricket]] captain [[Nasser Hussain]], filmmaker [[Peter Greenaway]] and singer Suzana Ansar.

Between the ages of 14 and 16, Sheikh attended [[Aitchison College]], the most exclusive boys boarding school in Pakistan, where his family had temporarily relocated. He later returned to the United Kingdom to continue at Forest School.<ref name="McGinty">McGinty, Stephen. ''The Scotsman'', 16 July 2002. {{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1204&id=763812002|title=The English Islamic Terrorist.|access-date=22 September 2006 | location=Edinburgh|work=The Scotsman|date=16 July 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050919151256/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1204&id=763812002|archive-date=19 September 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Reuters]]'' journalist Daniel Flynn, who was a childhood friend, says that he was already an admirer of Pakistan's [[Islamist]] dictator [[General Zia-ul-Haq]] and returned to London as "a junior boxing champion and full of stories of contacts with organised crime, gun battles in the ghettos of [[Lahore]], visits to [[brothel]]s."<ref>Daniel Flynn (25 September 2008), [https://web.archive.org/web/20080926205257/http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2008/09/25/omar-sheikh-a-childhood-friend-turned-pakistani-militant/ "Omar Sheikh, a childhood friend turned Pakistani militant"], ''Reuters''. Retrieved 31 March 2020.</ref>

Later, Sheikh attended the [[London School of Economics]]<ref name="HH">Hendrik Hertzberg, "[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/02/18/020218ta_talk_hertzberg Kidnapped]." ''[[The New Yorker]]''. 18 February 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2011.</ref> to study [[applied mathematics]], [[statistics]], [[economics]] and [[social psychology]],<ref>Rohan Gunaratna, Khuram Iqbal, ''Pakistan: Terrorism Ground Zero'', Reaktion Books, 2012, p. 200</ref> but dropped out during his first year.<ref name="BBC News 16 July 2002">{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title= Profile: Omar Saeed Sheikh|url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1804710.stm| date=16 July 2002| work= BBC News |access-date=19 January 2015}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that a fellow student of Sheikh's at both the [[Forest School (Walthamstow)|Forest School]] and the LSE, Syed Ali Hasan, had described him in 2002 as "bright but rather dysfunctional" and said that he had been suspended from school on several occasions because of his violent behavior. He was known for his violence since his childhood, having punched and thrown to the floor a teacher when he was eight years old, and grew up to be a bully.<ref>Suktara Ghosh (15 March 2018), [https://www.thequint.com/news/world/daniel-pearl-ahmed-omar-saeed-sheikh-profile-rajkummar-rao-omerta "Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the Man Rajkummar Rao Plays in ‘Omerta’"], ''The Quint''. Retrieved 31 March 2020.</ref> Becoming an adult,  a "burly-chested six feet two inches" as per journalist [[Robert Sam Anson]],<ref>Robert Sam Anson (August 2002), "The Journalist and The Terrorist", ''Vanity Fair''. Retrieved 31 March 2020.</ref> he would eventually translate this violence into a love for martial arts and sports, participating in the 1992 [[World Armwrestling Championship]] in [[Geneva]], while also being a chess champion during his days at the LSE.<ref>Josy Joseph (6 February 2002), [https://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/06josy.htm "Omar Sheikh: A deadly whirlpool of terror"], ''Rediff''. Retrieved 31 March 2020.</ref> Noted for his academic abilities, he was also a polyglot who could speak five languages.<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/28/sm.04.html "Saeed Sheikh Believed to Have Abetted Terrorists"], transcript from the ''CNN''</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that Sheikh came into contact with radical Islamists at the LSE, quoting Hasan as saying "[he] told us he was going to [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] driving aid convoys, and he never came back to university".<ref name="The Guardian 15 July 2002">{{cite news| last= Jeffery |first= Simon| title= Omar Sheikh: The path from public school in London to Pakistan's death row|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/15/pakistan.simonjeffery| date=15 July 2002| newspaper= The Guardian| location= London | access-date=19 January 2015}}</ref>

Former Pakistani President [[Pervez Musharraf]], in his book ''[[In the Line of Fire (book)|In the Line of Fire]]'', stated that Sheikh was originally recruited by British intelligence agency [[MI6]] while studying at the [[London School of Economics]]. He alleges Sheikh was sent to the Balkans by MI6 to engage in operations. Musharraf later says, "At some point, he probably became a rogue or [[double agent]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=McGrory |first=Daniel |date=26 September 2006 |title=CIA paid Pakistan for terror suspects |work=The Australian |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cia-paid-pakistan-for-terror-suspects/story-e6frg6so-1111112268186}}</ref>

Omar Sheikh married Saadia Rauf (who holds an MA degree in English)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/shaky-evidence/214668|title=Shaky Evidence &#124; |website=magazine.outlookindia.com/}}</ref> in [[Lahore]] in December 2000 and became a father in November 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/23/alqaida.usa|title='The toughest boy in school'|date=23 February 2005|website=the Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-daniel-pearl-case-questions-and-answers/214609|title=The Daniel Pearl Case: Questions And Answers|website=www.outlookindia.com/|date=18 February 2002 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/omar-sheikh-made-the-hoax-call-to-zardari/670109|title=Omar Sheikh Made the Hoax Call to Zardari|website=www.outlookindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1092205/daniel-pearl-case-shc-judge-declines-to-hear-omar-saeed-sheikhs-appeal|title=Daniel Pearl case: SHC judge declines to hear Omar Saeed Sheikh's appeal|date=26 April 2016|website=The Express Tribune}}</ref>

In an interview with Massoud Ansari from [[Newsline (magazine)|Newsline]] dated April 2005, Omar Shaikh stated that "You can obtain details of my background from the book ''Who Killed Daniel Pearl?'' by [[Bernard-Henri Lévy]]. In this book, Levy traces my entire life story; the references are usually negative but he has done a lot of research."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ansari |first=Massoud |date=April 2005 |title="I'm committed to Mulla Omar as the leader of all mujahideen today" |work=[[Newsline (magazine)|Newsline]] |pages=42–44}}</ref>

==Kidnapping of American and British nationals, 1994==
{{main|1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India}}
He travelled to Bosnia in 1993 during the [[Bosnian War]] and met other Pakistani Islamist militants with whom he went to an [[Afghan training camp]] and joined the anti-Indian terrorist group [[Harkat ul-Ansar|Harkat-ul-Ansar]].{{Efn|name=groups}}<ref name=":0" /> He served five years in prison including the Delhi [[Tihar Jail]] in the 1990s in connection with the [[1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India]] perpetrated by the Harkat-ul-Ansar (under the pseudonym of Al-Hadid), during which he had been caught.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Rath |first=Saroj Kumar |date=2020 |title=Ilyas Kashmiri through the Prism of HuJI, HuA, HuM, JeM, Brigade 313 and al Qaeda |url=https://www.academia.edu/44824474 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3704948 |s2cid=240721894 |issn=1556-5068}}</ref> The abductees included three British citizens, Myles Croston, Paul Rideout, and Rhys Partridge, and one American, Béla Nuss; all of them were rescued unharmed.<ref name="McGinty" /><ref>{{cite news | first=Celia W. | last=Dugger | author-link= Celia W. Dugger | title=A NATION CHALLENGED: A SUSPECT; Confession in 1994 Case Evokes Pearl Abduction | date=8 February 2002 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/08/world/a-nation-challenged-a-suspect-confession-in-1994-case-evokes-pearl-abduction.html?sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink | work =The New York Times | access-date = 27 April 2010}}</ref>

During his jail years, where he moved from jail to jail in different cities (e.g. New Delhi, Meerut, etc.), he was noted as wanting to read biographies of [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Stalin]] and described "as a tough, militant youth with a sharp, calculating brain well capable of planning and executing terror acts with precision", while his counsel in Meerut, O.P. Sharma, remembers him as a "fanatic to the core" who "believed every non-Muslim is a kafir and must perish", that "there was no concept of democracy in Islam" and even that "at times he turned very violent and behaved like a mentally-challenged person" for instance when "he once beat up one of the deputy jailors at Meerut jail."<ref>Ranjit Bhushan (22 October 2001), [https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/an-alley-cats-footprints/213495 "An Alley-Cat's Footprints"], ''Outlook India''. Retrieved 8 April 2020.</ref>

==Hijacking and release from prison==
{{Main|Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking}}
In 1999, [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] was hijacked by five Pakistani militants belonging to the [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] (formerly [[Harkat-ul-Ansar]]){{Efn|name=groups}} while on the way from [[Kathmandu]], Nepal to [[New Delhi]], India. The hijackers demanded the release of fellow Harkat-ul-Mujahideen members Sheikh and [[Masood Azhar]] (who went on to found [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] which Sheikh later joined)<ref name=":1" /> and [[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar]], leader of another Pakistan-based anti-India terror organization. The plane landed in [[Kandahar]] and [[Taliban]] militia surrounded the plane, pre-empting any Indian commando operation. After negotiations between the Indian government and the hijackers, the hostages were freed eight days after the hijacking occurred, although a passenger, Rupin Katyal, was stabbed to death by one of the hijackers. The three prisoners were released in exchange for the hostages, including Sheikh who was imprisoned at the [[Tihar Jail]] in Delhi.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1204&id=763812002|title=The English Islamic Terrorist.|access-date=22 September 2006 | location=Edinburgh|work=The Scotsman|date=16 July 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050919151256/http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1204&id=763812002|archive-date=19 September 2005|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sheikh also had financial connections with Aftab Ansari, perpetrator of the [[Khadim's case|kidnapping of Partha Pratim Roy Burman]] and the [[2002 attack on American cultural centre in Kolkata]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chakravarty |first1=Sayantan |date=25 February 2002 |title=Omar Sheikh and Aftab Ansari: The masterminds of a nexus between the underworld and jehad |language=en |work=[[India Today]] |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20020225-omar-sheikh-and-aftab-ansari-the-masterminds-of-a-nexus-between-the-underworld-and-jehad-795990-2002-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 January 2002 |title=Briton linked to al-Qa'ida 'behind Calcutta killings' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/briton-linked-to-alqa-ida-behind-calcutta-killings-9137758.html |access-date=8 September 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

==Media descriptions==
''[[The Times]]'' has described Sheikh as "no ordinary terrorist but a man who has connections that reach high into Pakistan's military and intelligence elite and into the innermost circles of Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organisation." According to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], Sheikh began working for Pakistan's [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) in 1993. By 1994, he was operating training camps in [[Afghanistan]] and had earned the title of bin Laden's "special son".<ref name=commons>{{Cite web|url=https://formspal.com/cooperativeresearch/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207213257/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed|url-status=dead|title=Center for Cooperative Research|archive-date=7 February 2005|website=FormsPal}}</ref>

In May 2002, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' quoted an unnamed Pakistani source as saying that the ISI paid Sheikh's legal fees during his 1994 trial in India on charges of kidnapping.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511173128/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24467-2002May2 Pearl Trial Moving to New Site After Threats] ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Possible connection with 9/11 hijackers==
On 6 October 2001, a senior-level US government official, told [[CNN]] that US investigators had discovered Sheikh (Sheik Syed), using the alias "[[Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad]]" had sent about $100,000 from the [[United Arab Emirates]] to [[Mohamed Atta]]. Investigators said "Atta then distributed the funds to conspirators in Florida in the weeks before the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil that destroyed the World Trade Center, heavily damaged the Pentagon and left thousands dead. In addition, sources have said Atta sent thousands of dollars – believed to be excess funds from the operation – back to Syed in the United Arab Emirates in the days before September 11."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/05/inv.terror.investigation/|title=CNN.com - Suspected hijack bankroller freed by India in '99 - October 6, 2001|website=CNN}}</ref> CNN later confirmed this.<ref>{{cite news|title=India wants terror spotlight on Kashmir|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/10/08/india.ressa|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050919151422/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/10/08/india.ressa|archive-date=19 September 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[9/11 Commission Report|9/11 Commission's Final Report]] states that the source of the funds "remains unknown."

More than a month after the money transfer was discovered, the head of ISI, General [[Mahmud Ahmed]] resigned from his position. It was reported that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) was investigating the possibility that Gen. Ahmed ordered Sheikh to send the $100,000 to Atta.<ref name=commons/>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' was one of the only Western news organisations to follow up on the story, citing the ''[[Times of India]]'': "US authorities sought General Mahmud Ahmed's removal after confirming that $100,000 was wired to WTC hijacker Mohamed Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the insistence of General Mahmud."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=95001298|title=Opinion & Reviews - Wall Street Journal|website=WSJ}}</ref> Another Indian newspaper, the ''[[Daily Excelsior]]'', quoting FBI sources, reported that the "FBI's examination of the hard disk of the cellphone company Sheikh had subscribed to led to the discovery of the "link" between him and the deposed chief of the Pakistani ISI, Mahmud Ahmed. And as the FBI investigators delved deep, reports surfaced with regard to the transfer of $100,000 to Mohamed Atta, one of the ringleaders of the 11 September attacks, who flew the hijacked [[American Airlines Flight 11]] [[Boeing 767|Boeing 767-223ER]] commercial airliner into the North Tower of World Trade Center. General Mahmud Ahmed, the FBI investigators found, fully knew about the transfer of money to Atta."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/01oct18/news.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212194311/http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/01oct18/news.htm|url-status=dead|title=FBI, CIA benefit from RAW's inputs – ''The Daily Excelsior''|archive-date=12 December 2005}}</ref>

The ''Pittsburgh Tribune'' notes that there "are many in Musharraf's government who believe that Saeed Sheikh's power comes not from the ISI, but from his connections with our own [[CIA]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/datelinedc/s_20141.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215173616/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/datelinedc/s_20141.html|url-status=dead|title=Did Pearl die because Pakistan deceived CIA? – ''The Pittsburgh Tribune''|archive-date=15 February 2006}}</ref>

Sheikh rose to prominence with the 2002 killing of ''Wall Street Journal'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]], who at the time was in Pakistan investigating connections between the ISI and Islamic militant groups. In Pakistan, Sheikh was sentenced to death for killing Pearl, however his complicity in Pearl's execution and the reasons behind it are in dispute. Further adding to the confusion surrounding the issue is that [[Khalid Sheikh Muhammad]] personally claimed to have been Pearl's killer.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/15/guantanamo.mohammed/index.html | publisher=CNN | title=Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: I beheaded American reporter - CNN}}</ref>

Saeed was seemingly implicated by [[Benazir Bhutto]] just before her own death in a hypothetical murder of [[Osama bin Laden]] (which must have occurred in late 2001 or 2002).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1dSY4d5b8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/5F1dSY4d5b8 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=Benazir Bhutto, David Frost, and Osama Bin Laden (Al Jazeera English – 'Frost Over The World")|last=justamused|date=1 May 2011|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Several commentators have noted that, as she had previously been speaking about one of the sons of bin Laden during the interview, in all likelihood, Bhutto simply misspoke and had intended to say, "Omar Sheikh, the man who murdered ''Daniel Pearl''," rather than "the man who murdered bin Laden" – such an important revelation about bin Laden's fate would certainly not have been stated so casually. Additionally, in subsequent interviews, Bhutto spoke about bin Laden in the context of him being alive.<ref name=Griffin>{{cite book |title=Osama bin Laden : dead or alive?|year=2009|publisher=Olive Branch Press|location=Northampton, Mass.|isbn=978-1566567831|page=[https://archive.org/details/osamabinladendea00grif/page/87 87]|url=https://archive.org/details/osamabinladendea00grif|url-access=registration|quote=Benazir Bhutto bin laden murdered misspoke.|author=David Ray Griffin|author-link=David Ray Griffin}}</ref>

==Daniel Pearl kidnapping==
The kidnapping (on 23 January 2002) and subsequent murder (on 1 February 2002) of American [[The Wall Street Journal|''Wall Street Journal'']] reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] in [[Karachi]], who was following an investigative lead while working in post-9/11 Pakistan, was committed by several Islamist jihadist groups working in collaboration.{{Efn|On 23 January 2002, Pearl was on his way to what he thought was an interview with [[Mubarak Ali Gilani]] at the Village Restaurant in downtown Karachi about terrorist [[Richard Reid]]'s alleged training at one of Gilani's camps in Pakistan. The interview was a set-up by Sheikh and Pearl was kidnapped near the Metropole Hotel at 7:00 p.m. The two had come in contact through [[Khalid Khawaja]], a retired [[Pakistan Air Force]] officer.<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/74763/ditch In a Ditch]. 3 May 2010. ''[[The New Republic]]''.</ref>}} Sheikh, a member of the [[Harkat ul-Ansar]]/[[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] and later [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]],{{Efn|name=groups}}<ref name=":1" /> has admitted to planning and committing the kidnapping but denied being involved in Pearl's murder. The [[beheading video]] of Pearl was released by Jaish-e-Mohammed, under the pseudonym of "National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty" and Jaish member [[Amjad Farooqi]] was reportedly involved in the kidnapping and murder.<ref>{{cite web |title=UNCLASSIFIED - Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=pjcis/six%20terrorist/jem.pdf |website=[[Australian Parliament House]] |publisher=[[Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=24 February 2002 |title=Reporter Daniel Pearl Is Dead, Killed by His Captors in Pakistan |url=https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/pearl-022102.htm |website=[[Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref><ref name="AsiaTimes2004-09-30">{{cite news |author=[[B. Raman]] |date=30 September 2004 |title=Why Amjad Farooqi had to die |publisher=[[Asia Times]] |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FI30Df05.html |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122055818/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FI30Df05.html |archive-date=22 November 2010 |quote=All accounts from Nawabshah indicate that if the Pakistani authorities had wanted they could have caught him alive and questioned him about the role of Pakistani civilian and military officials in various terrorist incidents of the past three years, including the kidnapping and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, the attempts to kill Musharraf himself and Shaukat Aziz, the prime minister, and the attacks directed against US and French targets in Pakistan. But they did not want him alive.}}</ref> In a January 2011 report prepared by the [[Center for Public Integrity]] (CPI) and the [[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists]] (ICIJ), members of other Pakistani terrorist groups such as [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]] and [[Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan]] were also stated to be involved in Pearl's kidnapping and murder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 January 2011 |title=New investigation into murder of Daniel Pearl released |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/01/new_investigation_in.php |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=[[Long War Journal]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The lead author of the report was Pearl's friend and colleague, journalist [[Asra Nomani]].<ref name="WashingtonPost2011-01-20" /> All of the aforementioned groups were operating under the [[Lashkar-e-Omar]] umbrella.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Lashkar-e-Omar |url=https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/LeO.htm |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref> [[Al-Qaeda]] leaders were also involved in the kidnapping and murder of Pearl, with [[Saif al-Adel]] playing a role in organizing the kidnapping and [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] was personally identified in investigative reports as the one who killed Pearl.<ref name="Reuters2011-05-232">{{cite news |author=Augustine Anthony |date=23 May 2011 |title=Study ties new al Qaeda chief to murder of journalist Pearl |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-alqaeda-pearl-idUSTRE74M27020110523 |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208103559/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/us-pakistan-alqaeda-pearl-idUSTRE74M27020110523 |archive-date=8 December 2014 |quote='KSM told the FBI that he was pulled into the kidnapping by a high-level leader in al Qaeda circles, an Egyptian named Saif al-Adel, who told him to make the kidnapping an al Qaeda operation,' said the investigators in their report which was published in January.}}</ref> Pearl was detained and later killed at an [[Al-Qaeda safe houses, Karachi|Al-Qaeda safe house in Karachi]] owned by Pakistani businessman [[Saud Memon]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=CIA Torture Unredacted |url=https://www.therenditionproject.org.uk/documents/RDI/190710-TRP-TBIJ-CIA-Torture-Unredacted-Full.pdf#page=264 |website=[[University of Kent|The Rendition Project]] |publisher=[[The Bureau of Investigative Journalism]] |page=264 |format=PDF}}</ref> [[Matiur Rehman]], another al-Qaeda leader has been identified as being involved in the kidnapping.<ref>Feinman Todd, Barbara and Nomani, Asra. [http://treesaver.publicintegrity.org/node/59%20 "The Truth Left Behind: Inside the Kidnapping and Murder of Daniel Pearl."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204222227/http://treesaver.publicintegrity.org/node/59|date=4 February 2013}} (Washington, D.C.: Center for Public Integrity, 2011).</ref>

Sheikh was arrested by Pakistani police on 12 February 2002, in [[Lahore]], in connection with the kidnapping of Pearl. Pearl after being kidnapped, had his throat slit, and then was beheaded on 1 February 2002.<ref name="transcripts.cnn.com" /> Sheikh told the Pakistani court, however, that he had surrendered to the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]]'s [[Ijaz Shah]] a week earlier on 5 February.<ref name="cpj">Wright, Abi.  ''Committee to Protect Journalists'', May 2006. {{cite web|title=Heading into Danger.|url=http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_spring_06/pearl/pearl_DA.html|access-date=29 June 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060629103102/http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_spring_06/pearl/pearl_DA.html| archive-date= 29 June 2006| url-status= live}}</ref>

Sheikh's lawyer Abdul Waheed Katpar claims Sheikh was arrested on 5 February 2002 and not on 12 February, and that evidence against the four suspects was fabricated by Pakistani police while the suspects were held in secret for a week. He also claims confessions were obtained under duress of torture and solitary confinement. However, Sheikh also told Pakistani officials in court in February 2002 that "as far as I know" Pearl had been killed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/22/kidnapped.reporter/?related|title=CNN.com - Investigators vow relentless search for Pearl's killers - February 22, 2002|website=www.cnn.com}}</ref>

The CPI and ICIJ report concluded Omar Sheikh was the mastermind of the plot to kidnap Pearl, leading to his subsequent murder. The report also confirmed the role of three codefendants convicted with Sheikh in Pearl's case. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a former [[CIA]] captive, who had been tortured in 2003 in the CIA's archipelago of [[CIA black sites|black sites]], had confessed to the murder, and the report concluded his confession was credible. The report noted that FBI forensic experts had confirmed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession through "[[vein matching]]", identifying the pattern of the veins in the killer's hands in the video.<ref name=LawfareDidKsmKillPearl/><ref name="TheTelegraphUK2011-01-20"/>

In February 2014, ''[[The Times of India]]'' reported that Saeed had attempted suicide at the [[Central Prison Karachi]] (where he was being held at the time) but had been discovered in time by prison guards and was in a stable condition.  The newspaper quoted a senior prison official as saying: "He is kept in a separate cell and section of the jail as he is no ordinary criminal. […] We have filed a case against him for attempted suicide and he can face additional punishment now".  A second prison official said: "He is a very intelligent, strong and sharp criminal with dangerous designs.  So his attempt to commit suicide comes as a surprise".<ref name="The Times of India 16 February 20142">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=16 February 2014 |title=Omar Sheikh attempts suicide in Pak jail |newspaper=The Times of India |location=Mumbai |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Omar-Sheikh-attempts-suicide-in-Pak-jail/articleshow/30480025.cms |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=4 August 2013 |title=Karachi Jail beefs up security to prevent breach |publisher=Express Tribune |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/586209/hyderabad-central-jail-beefs-up-security-to-prevent-breach/}}</ref>

==Hoax calls==
In the aftermath of the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], when Pakistani terrorists carried out mass shootings and bombings on Indian soil; tensions increased dramatically between India and Pakistan. On 28 November, a hoax caller pretending to be then Indian Foreign Minister [[Pranab Mukherjee]] threatened Pakistan President [[Asif Ali Zardari|Zardari]] with war, leading to the Pakistan military being put on high alert. Military aircraft with live ammunition were scrambled to patrol above Islamabad and Rawalpindi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-on-full-military-alert-after-hoax-call-1055705.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208001938/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-on-full-military-alert-after-hoax-call-1055705.html |archive-date=8 December 2008 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Pakistan on full military alert after hoax call|website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=7 December 2008}}</ref> The same caller tried to get in touch with the real Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]], claiming he was President Zardari but was unable to get through to either.<ref name=dawn>[https://www.dawn.com/archives/39032 Jailed militant’s hoax calls drove India, Pakistan to brink of war ] ''Dawn'', Pakistan.</ref>

A year after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan's ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]'' newspaper revealed that the hoax caller had been Sheikh. Using a mobile phone smuggled into his prison cell, Sheikh made the calls using a British [[SIM card]].<ref name=dawn/> After the source of the hoax calls became known, intelligence agents confiscated Sheikh's illegal phones and SIM cards and he was placed in [[solitary confinement]].<ref name="The Times of India 16 February 2014">{{cite news| title= Omar Sheikh attempts suicide in Pak jail|url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Omar-Sheikh-attempts-suicide-in-Pak-jail/articleshow/30480025.cms| author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=16 February 2014| newspaper= The Times of India| location= Mumbai | access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref><ref name=dawn/>

==In popular culture==
''The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl'' (2006) a television documentary by Indian directors Ahmed Alauddin Jamal and Ramesh Sharma which aired on [[HBO]] compares the contrasting lives of Sheikh and Danel Pearl.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl |url=https://iop.harvard.edu/forum/journalist-and-jihadi-murder-daniel-pearl |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[Harvard Institute of Politics]] |language=en}}</ref>

Hollywood film  [[A Mighty Heart (film)|''A Mighty Heart'']] (2007) is based on the life of slain journalist [[Daniel Pearl]]. [[Alyy Khan]] portrayed Sheikh in the film. The film's plot circulates around [[A Mighty Heart|the memoir]] by Pearl's wife [[Mariane Pearl]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Mighty Heart streaming: where to watch online? |url=https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-mighty-heart |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=JustWatch |language=en}}</ref>

In 2008, [[National Geographic Adventure]]'s docudrama show [[Banged Up Abroad|Locked up Abroad]] broadcast the episode "India: Hostage to Terror" about Sheikh's [[1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India]].<ref>{{IMDb title|1248284|Banged Up Abroad: India: Hostage to Terror}}</ref>

In 2017, an Indian biographical film [[Omerta (2017 film)|''Omerta'']] based on the life of Sheikh was released. [[Rajkummar Rao]] portrays Sheikh and the film covers his initial radicalization, role in the 1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India, his release in exchange for hostages of the [[Indian Airlines Flight 814|Indian Airlines flight 814]], and his role in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Omerta |url=https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/omerta/0-0-189437 |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=[[ZEE5]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{Reflist|3|refs=
<ref name=LawfareDidKsmKillPearl>
{{cite news 
| url         = https://www.lawfaremedia.org/2011/01/so-ksm-really-did-kill-daniel-pearl/
| title       = So KSM Really Did Kill Daniel Pearl
| publisher   = [[Lawfare (website)|Lawfare]]
| author      = Benjamin Wittes
| author-link      = Benjamin Wittes
| date        = 20 January 2011
| access-date  = 10 October 2013
| quote       = The investigation produced a lengthy report concluding, among other things, that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was telling the truth when he boasted at his CSRT hearing of "decapitat[ing] with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl."
}}
</ref>
<ref name=PearlAnalysis>
{{cite news 
| url         = http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26296-pearl-project-diagram.html
| title       = The Pearl Project
| publisher   = [[The Center for Public Integrity]]
| author      = Asra Q. Nomani
| author-link      = Asra Q. Nomani
| date        = 20 January 2011
| access-date  = 10 October 2013
|display-authors=etal}}
</ref>
<ref name="WashingtonPost2011-01-20">
{{cite news 
| url         = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/20/AR2011012000057.html?hpid=topnews
| title       = Khalid Sheik Mohammed killed U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, report finds 
| newspaper   = [[The Washington Post]]
| author      = Peter Finn
| author-link      = Peter Finn (journalist)
| date        = 20 January 2011
| access-date  = 10 October 2013
| quote       = A recently completed investigation of the killing of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan nine years ago makes public new evidence that a senior al-Qaeda operative executed the Wall Street Journal reporter. 
}}
</ref>
<ref name="TheTelegraphUK2011-01-20">
{{cite news 
| url         = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8271845/Daniel-Pearl-was-beheaded-by-911-mastermind.html
| title       = Daniel Pearl was beheaded by 9/11 mastermind 
| work=[[The Telegraph (UK)|The Telegraph]]
| author      = Ben Farmer
| date        = 20 January 2011
| location    = London
| access-date  = 10 October 2013
| quote       = The photographs were shared with CIA colleagues holding Mohammed, who used a forensic technique called "vein matching" to determine the hands belonged to the same man. 
}}
</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Pakistan|England|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|5280032}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120315213307/http://members.fortunecity.com/terrorgate/profile-sheikh.htm Profiles in Terror: Omar Sayeed Sheikh]. ''Terrorgate''.
* [https://www.theguardian.com/alqaida/story/0,,1423125,00.html Al-Qaida - The toughest boy in the school]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.
* [https://www.scotsman.com/news/english-islamic-terrorist-2511373 The English Islamic terrorist]. ''[[The Scotsman]]''.
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/10/05/inv.terror.investigation/ Suspected hijack bankroller freed by India in '99]. 6 October 2001. ''[[CNN]]''.
* [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-helped-FBI-trace-ISI-terrorist-links/articleshow/1454238160.cms India helped FBI trace ISI-terrorist links]. ''[[Times of India]]''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saeed Sheikh, Ahmed Omar}}
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