Pakistani prosecutors said they had filed an appeal...

Pakistani prosecutors said they had filed an appeal seeking death penalty for three men found guilty of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl. Sheikh Omar, the prime accused, was sentenced to death on July 15 by an anti-terrorism court in Hyderabad for the murder, while three accomplices were given life terms.
Chief prosecutor Raja Qureshi said an appeal had been filed at the Sindh High Court "for the enhancement of punishment" of the three co-accused, Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil.
"The appeal was filed because if the guilt is established then the normal punishment prescribed by law is to be awarded and not lesser than that," he told Reuters. "The normal sentence is the death penalty," he said, adding: "There is no reason assigned by the trial court for giving a lesser punishment." The provincial high court has not set a date for the hearing, he said.
Defence lawyers are also planning to appeal against the judgement. "We are confident that the superior court will set aside the decision," he said. "We haven't yet decided on what date we will lodge the appeal. We still have six days."