U.S. sought Pearl kidnap suspect before abduction

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration asked Pakistan to arrest the lead suspect in Daniel Pearl's abduction and killing in early January on charges stemming from a 1994 kidnapping.

The request was made after the Justice Department, in a sealed indictment, charged Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in connection with the 1994 kidnapping of three British tourists and one American in India, government officials told CNN on Sunday. U.S. officials said they believe Pakistani officials attempted to find Sheikh without success.

According to senior administration officials, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin told the Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on January 9 of the U.S. interest in seeing Sheikh arrested on the kidnapping charge.

Pakistani police eventually arrested Sheikh on February 12 in connection with the January 23 kidnapping of Pearl, the south Asian bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal.

The family of Daniel Pearl has established a charity "to support the causes to which he dedicated his life." Donations can be sent to: Daniel Pearl Family Foundation c/o The Wall Street Journal P.O. Box 300 Princeton, N.J. 08543 U.S.A.  CNN NewsPass Video    •  Four found guilty in Pearl killing   MORE STORIES   •  Pearl family welcomes verdict   •  UK urges leniency for Pearl killer   •  Tom Mintier: Backlash a fear in Pearl verdicts   •  TIME.com: A casualty of the war on terror  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Messages of sorrow, shock after Pearl's killing  RESOURCES   •  Obituary: Daniel Pearl   •  Timeline: Key dates in the Pearl kidnapping   •  Gallery: The life of Daniel Pearl

Pearl, 38, was lured from his Karachi apartment following a tip from a source regarding his research on a story about possible ties between accused "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. His death was confirmed Thursday in a videotape obtained by U.S. authorities.

Pakistani officials said Sheikh has admitted arranging the kidnapping. He is scheduled to reappear in court Monday. Three other men have been arrested in connection with the abduction.

Sheikh, 28, served five years in prison in India on the 1994 kidnapping charges. He was released in 1999 in exchange for the freedom of 155 passengers aboard a hijacked Indian jetliner.

The Justice Department first contacted the National Security Council about the Saeed indictment and sought high-level administration support in winning from Pakistan a commitment to pursue Sheikh, senior officials said. After reviewing the request, the NSC approved it and forwarded it to the State Department, which dispatched Chamberlin to convey U.S. interest in Sheikh to top Pakistani officials.

In a January 24 meeting with Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Chamberlin and FBI Director Robert Mueller repeated the U.S. request for Sheikh's arrest. In that meeting, senior officials tell CNN, Mueller informed Musharraf that Pearl had been abducted the day before.