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CNN Live At Daybreak
Pakistani Police Threatened Over Extradition; Muslims Distrust U.S.
Aired February 27, 2002 - 06:31 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 about Daniel Pearl now. Pakistani authorities investigating Pearl's killing are under new pressure today.
CNN's Chris Burns is live in Karachi with the latest.
Chris, what can you tell us?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Carol, that pressure comes in the form of a phone call. Earlier today, police say they got a call from an anonymous caller claiming to be part of the same group that claimed to have kidnapped Daniel Pearl.
That call, the caller said that if extradition proceedings continue against a key suspect, they will attack a very important office of investigators, a place where the key suspect Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh had been at least questioned for some -- at some point.
That office is now under very heavy security. That -- the caller said that they would either bomb it or rocket it. So police are reacting to that with a lot of caution. This, of course, comes a day after a meeting in Islamabad between President Pervez Musharraf and the U.S. ambassador Wendy Chamberlain who -- they talked about the possible extradition of Sheikh Omar.
Wendy Chamberlain came out of the meeting saying in her words, she was not disappointed by what the President Musharraf said. However, "The New York Times" says that Musharraf agreed in principle to an eventual extradition of Sheikh Omar. That, however, would come probably after the investigation is completed and perhaps even after the court, the trial is completed.
Authorities want to keep Sheikh Omar here in town during this investigation where they hope to find the body of Daniel Pearl, the American journalist who was killed -- the video that was found last week showing him brutally murdered. They would also to find the murder weapon. They would also like to find more evidence and more witnesses, more suspects.
That is going on -- the investigators have asked for two more weeks. That is up on March 12. Perhaps there'll be more evidence to show against Sheikh Omar -- Carol. COSTELLO: Chris, going back to the phone call and the threat, I mean Pakistani authorities don't even know if this was a credible threat, do they?
BURNS: Well apparently they're taking it very seriously and especially with the caller identifying himself with the same group. They are not ignoring it. In fact, we did make sure that we confirmed with a top police official who said yes, this was the case. They did get the call. They obviously are taking it quite seriously.
COSTELLO: Apparently that group ...
BURNS: Carol.
COSTELLO: ... is not going underground, is it? All right, Chris Burns reporting live for us from Karachi, Pakistan this morning.
One more note on the Pearl investigation to tell you about. CNN's Connie Chung has seen that gruesome videotape of Daniel Pearl's final words and his killing, and she will discuss that on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" with Paula Zahn, and of course that show begins about 30 minutes from now.
Most people in the Islamic world think unfavorably of the United States. That is the finding of a new Gallup poll conducted in nine predominantly Muslim countries following the September attacks. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing justifies the effects on September 11 against the American people.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Now the bad news, even larger majorities in every Muslim country label U.S. military action in Afghanistan morally unjustifiable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If the reaction takes the form of an attack on Afghanistan and other countries in the name of fighting terrorism, it's not justified.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Take Pakistan, for instance, 61 percent of Pakistanis condemn the September 11 attacks on the U.S., but 80 percent of Pakistanis condemn U.S. military action in Afghanistan -- quite a surprise from the key U.S. ally in this fight.
Do people in these countries even like the United States? Alas no. By two to one on the average, they express an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. And in most of these Muslim countries, opinion of President Bush is even more negative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He's not stable enough as a leader.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The poll describes people in these Muslim countries as resentful of the U.S. Respondents admire America's economic prosperity, technological prowess, and freedom. What do they resent? They resent the U.S. attitude toward the rest of the world, which solid majorities describe as ruthless, aggressive, arrogant, and biased.
Biased? Yes, biased against Islamic values generally and against Palestinian interests specifically. They also resent American values and culture. In Turkey, for instance, a NATO country allied with the West, 45 percent feel that Western values have a bad effect on their own culture. Only 10 percent see a positive impact.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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