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CNN Live At Daybreak
"Wall Street Journal" Receives Photo of David Pearl at Gunpoint
Aired January 28, 2002 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: "The Wall Street Journal" says it has obtained photos of journalist Daniel Pearl who's been missing in Pakistan since last Wednesday. "The Journal" says one photo shows Pearl being held at gunpoint, you'll see it in just a second.
On the phone now from Islamabad is CNN Bureau Chief Ash-Har Quraishi -- what's the latest from there Ash-Har?
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, I just spoke to government officials just a few moments ago, and they did tell us that the investigation is ongoing in Karachi. The sin (ph) police are looking into this incident. They also say that they have deployed special officers outside of Karachi to the capital of Pakistan here in Islamabad, as well as the surrounding areas in Findi (ph) to get in touch with anybody that may have been in contact with Daniel Pearl in the days before his disappearance.
Now they've also been referring to reports that we're hearing about, an organization or a group calling themselves the National Movement for the restoration of Pakistani sovereignty. The government officials we spoke to say that they do not know of such of an organization that has existed up until now.
This is the first, they say, they're hearing about this organization. But they can not rule out the possibility that this may be another militant group from within Pakistan that may have changed its name in recent weeks in response to a ban by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. That's what we're hearing right now -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It's not unusual for people just to disappear there, is it?
QURAISHI: No, especially in Karachi. There has been a high rate of violence and crime in that city for some time now. It is the largest city in Pakistan, almost 13 million people there. Abductions are not something that is unusual. One thing that the government official I spoke to said was because of that fact, they are confident that this investigation may turn up a lead soon.
They do say though, however, that most of the -- these abductions end up coming to them with some sort of a ransom request, some sort of a demand. They have not received any demands yet, but they say that once that happens, they consider that to be a turning point in the investigation -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I imagine that this incident has made journalists, especially American journalists be very careful in Pakistan.
QURAISHI: Well being careful here in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan has been something that journalists here have been, you know, something that they've been used to in the last few weeks, last few months.
You get a lot of people here that are offering their services, local hires. They say that they can promise you interviews that they may or may not deliver. So journalists here have to be, you know, extra careful, extra skeptical as to who they're dealing with and who they can trust -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So that's what may have happened. He might have gotten word from someone on an interview. He went there by himself. I mean do we know that?
QURAISHI: Well what we know at this point is that he did travel to Karachi. He was here with his wife who still is in Karachi at this point, and he was working with another freelance journalist out there. The officials that we spoke to say that he was, the last that they'd heard he had gotten into a cab with unidentified people who say that he was going to meet a source, and he hasn't been seen since then -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Scary stuff. OK, well you be careful there Ash-Har.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. Reporting live for us from Pakistan this morning, Ash-Har Quraishi.
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