Karachi, Jan 15: A Pakistani court today postponed an appeals hearing by four militants convicted of killing Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl last January. The request for the postponement was made by one of their lawyers, said court officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The judge granted the postponement without setting a new hearing date for the appeal.

British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other men were convicted by an anti-terrorism court in July of abducting and killing pearl, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Pearl was researching a story on Islamic militancy. Sheikh was condemned to death, while the three others - Salman Saquib, Fahad Nasim, and Sheikh Adil - were sentenced to life in prison. They are appealing their conviction.

Prosecutors say they want to appeal the life sentences and are asking for the death sentences of all four men. In Pakistan, prisoners sentenced to life are usually released after 25 years. In an e-mail message to media organisations in the United States and Pakistan, a group calling itself the movement for the restoration of the sovereignty of Pakistan claimed responsibility for Pearl's kidnapping.
Pictures in the e-mails showed pearl in captivity, with a handgun pointed at his head. A month later, a video tape sent to US officials in Karachi depicted the reporter's slaying. Bureau Report