Pearl kidnap suspect interrogated

Pakistani president 'reasonably sure' missing journalist is alive

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, in an undated photo

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani police Wednesday were involved in an intense and ongoing interrogation of the man believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, Karachi's police chief said

According to Tariq Jamil, police believe Pearl is alive because they have no other information that indicates they should believe otherwise.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-born Islamic militant believed to be behind the abduction, assured police after his arrest Tuesday that Pearl was alive and in Karachi, raising hopes for an imminent end to the abduction.

A senior Karachi police officer Tuesday night called Saeed Sheikh "a hard nut to crack."

In Washington, Pakistani president Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he's "reasonably sure" Pearl is still alive and said authorities were "as close as possible" to getting him released. Musharraf said the kidnapping appeared to be fallout from his crackdown on Islamic militants.

"We are not deterred. These kinds of things were expected," Musharraf said after meeting with U.S. President Bush.

Bush said he and Musharraf share a "mutual desire that Mr. Pearl return home safely."

'This could take a while'

But other U.S. officials sounded a more cautious note Wednesday.

"(Ahmed Omar Saeed) Sheikh probably wasn't the 'level one' person," said one official close to the investigation. "People thought -- arrest the Sheikh and there's Danny. But it could take a few more days to 'shake' him out ...to reach the next step," the official said.

Another senior State Department official said the United States is reluctant to speculate as to how much longer it could be before Pearl is freed.

Officials continue to voice optimism that Pearl is alive, but say they've based their assessment on statements made by Saeed Sheikh after he was captured Tuesday.

"This could go on for a while," said Steven Goldstein, a spokesman for the Wall Street Journal.

Police arrested the 28-year-old Saeed Sheikh in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore, where he was found in a house with his wife and child. Police said Saeed Sheikh surrendered without a struggle. Later in the day, he was brought to Karachi.

Aid concessions

Musharraf brought along a delegation of Pakistani officials to discuss the next steps in the war on terrorism, as well as Pakistan's hope that the United States may forgive billions of dollars in past loans.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Pakistani officials have "been very helpful" in the hunt for Pearl and his kidnappers, and a U.S. official told CNN, "We have confidence in the way the Pakistanis are handling this."

Saeed Sheikh was arrested for the 1994 kidnapping in India of three Britons and an American tourist and was released five years later in exchange for the freedom of 155 passengers aboard a hijacked India Air flight.

He grew up in London suburbs and attended elite private schools in the British capital. He attended the London School of Economics before becoming an Islamic jihadist in 1993.

Saeed Sheikh had eluded law enforcement since he was identified as a suspect in the Pearl kidnapping earlier this month. Punjab police detained him after a lengthy search of Lahore, about 654 miles (1053 km) northeast of Karachi.

Investigators obtained the information that led to Saeed Sheikh from a series of arrests in Islamabad and Karachi Monday night.

Test of new law

Tuesday, three suspects accused of aiding and abetting in Pearl's kidnapping were remanded to police custody and are scheduled to be back in Pakistan's anti-terrorism court in 14 days to face formal charges.

In the first case to be tried under a new amendment to Pakistan's antiterrorism law, Fahd Naseem, "Salman" and "Adil" were formally arrested in connection with Pearl's kidnapping.

They were brought into the court with towels over their heads, surrounded by police officers and told not to talk to anyone about their case. A lawyer for one of the men told CNN that he still has not had a chance to talk to his client.

The three men were detained when investigators discovered a connection between them and a computer that had been used to send notes demanding the release of Pakistani prisoners being held at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

One of the men allegedly told investigators that Saeed Sheikh had given him the text of the messages and photographs of Pearl in captivity to transmit.

Pearl, 38, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, disappeared while supposedly on his way to interview another Pakistani militant believed to have connections with Richard Reid, the man accused of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In New York, the newspaper's managing editor, Paul Steiger, who has repeatedly appealed to Pearl's kidnappers to release him, told CNN he is waiting for further word from Pakistan.

"Let's hope we have some good news," he said. "It's a slow process."

Last week, CNN obtained copies of e-mails purportedly sent to Pearl by Saeed Sheikh, using the pseudonym Chaudery Bashir Ahmad Shabbir, or simply Bashir. The e-mails indicate that Pearl was lured into a trap with promises of an interview with Sheikh Mubarik ali Gilani, the head of the fundamentalist Islamic Jamaat ul-Fuqra group.

Police had briefly detained Gilani, but later said they did not believe he had a hand in the kidnapping.

-- CNN's Ben Wedeman and Hugh Williams contributed to this report