Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Pearl's Family Waits for Word on Kidnapped Journalist

Aired February 01, 2002 - 06:01   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: More about Daniel Pearl now. His family and friends are waiting for word about the reporter after his Pakistani kidnappers said they extended a deadline in their threat to kill him. CNN's Ben Wedeman has been covering the story. He joins us live from Karachi with an update. Ben, what's going on?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Carol, as you said, no word since yesterday evening local time regarding the fate of Mr. Pearl. His kidnappers who call themselves The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty saying that they have extended their deadline by one day, and of course now it is 4:00 in the afternoon in Karachi.

Now that extension was contained in an e-mail that was sent to a newspaper here. That e-mail ended with the following statement. "Don't think this will be the end. It is the beginning, and it is a real war on Americans. Americans will get a taste of the death and destruction that we got in Afghanistan and Pakistan".

Now U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been in touch with the Pakistani leadership. He has said that the United States is doing all it can to win the release of Mr. Pearl, but at this point they are not willing to consider the demands of the kidnappers.

Now this just in, the Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdul Sattar, has renewed allegations we heard yesterday that India is somehow involved in this kidnapping, according to the foreign minister.

The cell phone records with -- from the cell phones that were on individuals who have been detained since the kidnapping on the 23 of January, those records, he says, show that the kidnappers were in touch with Indian officials. Now we must say here at this point that often times when things happen in Pakistan, a variety of events, the Pakistanis point a finger at the Indians, and when things happen in India, they point the fingers in the direction of Pakistan.

But certainly this allegation coming from the Pakistani foreign minister represents serious claims by the Pakistanis at this very sensitive moment -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ben, you said the kidnappers may have been in contact with Indian officials. Who would those officials be? WEDEMAN: Well we don't know. This is just coming in from the -- from Berlin, in fact, where the Pakistani foreign minister is right now. So we do not have the details. But we heard allegations also coming from a senior spokesman in Islamabad yesterday also alleging in fairly strong terms that the Indians are involved. Of course New Delhi has denied any connection whatsoever with the kidnapping, so at this point, we just have to take note of those allegations and wait for some sort of indication or evidence that would prove them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ben, is there a sense that the kidnappers realize that they're asking for impossible things?

WEDEMAN: Well certainly that is what Mr. Colin Powell said yesterday, that the United States simply will not and can not consider those demands and of course, those demands are significant. They're asking, for instance, for the release of all Pakistanis being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and therefore, the United States is obviously not willing to consider them. Yesterday we heard from Paul Steiger, the managing editor of the "Wall Street Journal" who said that we, that "Wall Street Journal" or Danny Pearl can not respond to those demands. They're in no position to do so, and certainly one would hope that the kidnappers would understand that those are very significant demands, and at this point, it's unlikely that they will be met -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So the saga goes on sadly enough. Thank you. Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from Pakistan this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com