U.S. offers $5 million reward in Pearl case

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- The United States is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the kidnapping and killing of journalist Daniel Pearl, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher announced Wednesday.

The reward is being offered through the Rewards for Justice program, which was set up to reward people who provide information that solves a terrorist case, or prevents a terrorist attack.

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Boucher said the United States will start advertising the reward in Pakistan.

In Karachi, authorities tightened security Wednesday after a caller threatened to attack police building if a Pakistan court begins extradition proceedings for Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key suspect in Pearl's kidnapping and killing.

The anonymous caller, who said he represented the National Movement for Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty -- the group that had claimed Pearl's abduction -- said that if extradition proceedings begin, his group would bomb the Crime and Investigation Department of the Sindh provincial police, an official said on condition of anonymity.

The building is where Saeed Sheikh was questioned. Authorities are not disclosing where he is being held.

Security has been increased around one detention center in the area near the court proceedings.

Police said they are seeking more evidence against Saeed Sheikh, who was arrested February 12, before formal charges are filed in the case.

Meanwhile, Wendy Chamberlin, U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, arrived Wednesday in Karachi to meet with police officials and investigators. A U.S. Consulate spokesman said Chamberlin will not push for Saeed Sheikh's extradition in her meetings but that she plans to ask how the Pearl investigation is going and to thank Pakistani officials for their cooperation.

Chamberlin met Tuesday with Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to discuss the extradition of Saeed Sheikh. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Pakistanis are examining the U.S. request, which was first made in November before Pearl's kidnapping and killing.

U.S. officials said that Saeed Sheikh was secretly indicted in November in connection with the 1994 kidnapping in India of Western tourists, including an American. Justice Department officials won't say what prompted that indictment, which came more than six years after the incident.

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

Some Pakistani officials are pushing to bring him to trial in their country first to avoid the appearance that Musharraf is caving in to U.S. demands, which could anger Islamic militants.