Pakistan's Supreme Court acquits man convicted of killing WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday acquitted the man convicted in 2002 of plotting the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Pearl, then the Journal's South Asia bureau chief, was reporting on militant networks in the region, following the September 11, 2001 attacks. He disappeared in the city of Karachi and was killed days later.

The Pakistani court dismissed all charges against British citizen Omar Sheikh, who has spent nearly two decades in a Pakistani prison for the crime. The court ordered that Sheikh be released from jail immediately — Pakistani authorities have prevented that from happening since April, when a lower court also ruled that he be set free.

A lawyer for the government of Pakistan said he was disappointed in the ruling and will challenge the verdict. The U.S. government has also said it will take steps to intervene in the case. Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have been applying pressure to Pakistani authorities to keep Sheikh imprisoned. 

Sheikh's attorney said Thursday that according to Pakistan's laws and constitution, it is impossible for a different country to now place his client on trial.