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CNN Live At Daybreak

Saeed Claims Pearl is Dead; Police Say Saeed is Unreliable

Aired February 14, 2002 - 05:01   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: Let's talk more about Daniel Pearl now. As I told you, the suspected kidnapper claims he's dead now.

We want to go live to Karachi and talk with Ben Wedeman to see what he knows today -- good morning, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol.

As you mentioned, Mr. Sheikh Omar Saeed, the British born and educated Pakistani militant, appeared before an anti-terrorism court here and he made a statement. He said, "As far as I know, Pearl is dead." But we must stress here that is just what he says. We don't know what he believes or what he thinks. And of course this directly contradicts statements he made to police following his detention in Lahore on Tuesday when he told them, "Pearl is alive and is in Karachi."

Since his detention, the police say it's been quite difficult to discern fact from fiction as far as Mr. Saeed goes. Now, the "Wall Street Journal" says that they are still confident that Mr. Pearl is still alive. The spokesman I was on the telephone with earlier today saying that they are confident that Danny is still out there.

Now, Saeed did not deny involvement in the kidnapping of Mr. Pearl. He said to the court in his statement, "Right or wrong, I had my reasons. I think our country should not be catering to America's needs."

Now, he's been remanded into police custody until the 25th of February, when he will reappear before that anti-terrorism court to receive formal charges.

Now, just to give you an indication about how possibly unreliable Mr. Saeed is, he apparently gave leads to the police last night. They went on raids to two houses in the Karachi area. When they got to those houses, they found nobody inside. The neighbors told them no one had been in those houses for quite some time. So it appears that when you're looking for reliable information on the whereabouts and condition of Mr. Pearl, it's probably not a good idea to talk to Sheikh Omar Saeed -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So it's possible he's just leading authorities on a wild goose chase for whatever reason? WEDEMAN: Certainly that is the impression the police have, as well as many of us, that he seems to say one thing one day, another the next, and is not a very reliable source. Why he's saying that is difficult to say at this point. Maybe this is just his way of further confounding and confusing an already confused police force -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's for sure. His poor family. How mean.

Thank you very much, Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from Karachi. We'll talk to you in the next hour.

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