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American Morning

Pakistani Police Believe Body Found in Karachi is Daniel Pearl

Aired May 17, 2002 - 07:04   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to move just across the border now to Pakistan. Police say they are quite sure a body buried in a shallow grave in southern Karachi is that of Daniel Pearl, the murdered "Wall Street" journal reporter.

CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi is there. He joins us now by videophone -- good morning. What's the latest the police are telling you now?

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Paula. Well, a team of forensic medical experts arrived at the scene where this body was found in the outskirts of Karachi. They have been examining the area, as well as the body itself. Tests will be conducted to determine conclusively whether or not this is in fact the body of Daniel Pearl.

We have heard from police officials, as well as government officials, that they do believe that this is in fact his body, but they are being very careful as to announcing that they have full 100 percent confirmation that it is in fact Daniel Pearl's body.

ZAHN: How long do they expect this process to take?

QURAISHI: Well, they are still looking at DNA tests right now. The government says that right now, they have to be very careful about this. As you recall, just after the kidnapping, there was a report that a body was found in the cemetery in Karachi. That body turned out not to be that of Daniel Pearl. The media had widely reported that it was Daniel Pearl, as well as police sources. They have been very careful this time.

Now, the strong evidence that they say that they see in this case includes a small one-room structure found near where the body was found. Inside this structure, they say they found blood, as well as other evidence that point to the fact that this may in fact by Daniel Pearl's body.

There is a photograph that was sent via e-mail of showing Daniel Pearl in captivity. They say that similar circumstances were found inside this structure, including a small chair, a gray chair that Daniel Pearl was sitting on in one of these photographs.

But right now, they say that they are going to be very careful, and until those DNA results come out, they will not conclusively say that it is in fact his body, but they do believe that it is -- Paula. ZAHN: Ash-Har Quraishi reporting from Karachi this morning -- thanks so much.

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