U.S. praises Pakistan's cooperation

As the full impact of the ghastly killing of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl was yet to unfold, the Pakistan government received praise from the U.S. administration for cooperating fully in the investigations into his kidnapping, State Department spokes-man Richard Boucher acknowledged in Washington.

Musharraf said in a condolence message, "My heart goes out to the family and friends of the slain journalist. My wife joins me in sharing the grief of Mrs. Daniel Pearl."

He also said such acts of terror would not deter him, his government and the people of Pakistan from "acting with all their strength against terrorists and in fighting this menace together with the international community."

"Pakistan would stay the course to ensure that this country and indeed the world is free of terror," Musharraf said on Friday.

The foreign office in Islamabad also issued a statement expressing deep grief.

"The murderers of Daniel Pearl are dangerous criminals devoid of all humanity and their barbaric act is a crime against Pakistan and an outrage against cherished values of our society," the statement said.

"The government is determined to pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice. The government is resolved to continue the fight against terrorism in concert with the international community."

Pakistani Islamic parties denounced the killing of the American journalist. Jamaat-e-Islami deputy chief Ghafoor Ahmad said every Pakistani must condemn the "brutal act" and those responsible must be punished.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam said the killers must be caught and given exemplary punishment.

A JUI spokesman, however, hit out at what he called contradictory U.S. policies and cautioned that such incidents would continue to happen as long as Washington continued to display "double standards."

Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan ( JUP), former Sindh chief minister Liaquat Jatoi, who has now joined the 'like-minded' Muslim League party of Mian Azhar, former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg, former foreign minister Gohar Ayub, and Dr Arif Alvi of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf party of Imran Khan asked the government to unmask the conspiracy against Pakistan.

Both Jamaat and JUI led a wave of anti-U.S. demonstrations after Pakistan aligned with the U.S.-led coalition in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Their party chief remain under detention.

The Pakistan People's Party said it feels "something worse" would follow in the aftermath of the sad incident. It blamed the Pakistani administration of General Pervez Musharraf, for failing to do its duty to protect the life and honour of its own citizens and those coming from abroad for business and professional assignments.

"The way the government handled the matter has brought shame to the country," the party said.

A statement from the PPP recalled that the Jaish-e-Mohammad activist Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed, who has come to be regarded as the mastermind behind Pearl's kidnapping, had surrendered before the home secretary of the Punjab province who as a brigadier in the army, had served in ISI, the spy wing of the military.

"The said brigadier had worked against the Peoples' Party government," the party official said.

"The party, therefore, senses foul play in a drama that ended on a gruesome note on Friday".

The incident was also condemned by the leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain. He demanded punishment for those responsible for this "crime against humanity".