Remember Daniel Pearl? Parents ask Musharraf

In a letter titled Musharraf Ignores an Open Wound, published in Pearl's paper the Wall Street Journal, Judea and Ruth Pearl described Pakistan's democracy as "grossly dysfunctional".

Referring to Musharraf's June 29 speech before the World Affair Council in Los Angeles, they said, "We are deeply disappointed that, speaking in Daniel's hometown, President Musharraf did not explain the current standstill in the investigation, prosecution and apprehension of those responsible for Daniel's murder."

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Noting that Musharraf had described Pakistan as a "functioning democracy", they said that it "appears grossly dysfunctional if it can permit repeated and unending postponements of court meetings in the case of Omar Sheikh, the man convicted on July 15, 2002, for masterminding Daniel's murder."

Pearl was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in early 2002 while working on a story on Islamic extremists.

Referring to Musharraf's comment on June 17 in Islamabad that he considered the Daniel Pearl case as "history", they said that they disagreed.

"To us, to the international journalism community, and to the many Americans who were shocked and betrayed by this brutal murder, the case would remain an open wound until two conditions are satisfied," they said.

The first of the two conditions was that all those involved in the planning and execution of the murder are brought to justice.

The second condition was that a monument to Daniel Pearl is erected in Karachi, reaffirming the ideals for which he stood: truth, humanity and dialogue, and denouncing the ideologies that took his life.

"Monuments unveil the hearts and minds of people. Is Pakistan's heart behind its president's vision?" the Pearls asked in conclusion.