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WASHINGTON, FEB. 22. There is shock, anger and outrage here at the brutal murder of Daniel Pearl. Officials here are not saying much about the grisly videotape, reviewed by authorities in Pakistan. ``The murder of Pearl is an outrage and we condemn it. Both the U.S. and Pakistan are committed to identifying all the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice,'' the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said in a statement. The President, George Bush, who is now in China, said that he was deeply saddened by the Wall Street Journal reporter's death and stressed that it only strengthened the U.S. resolve to rid the world of terrorists. ``All Americans are sad and angry to learn of the murder. Those who threaten Americans, those who engage in criminal, barbaric acts, need to know that these crimes only hurt their cause and only deepen the resolve of the United States to rid the world of these agents of terror,'' he said. Mr. Bush has spoken to the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, in the aftermath of the killing of Pearl. ``President Musharraf took it pretty badly because he was doing everything to stop'' the kidnappers of Pearl from killing him, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told reporters on board Air Force One bringing the American President home after a five-day trip to Asia that covered Japan, South Korea and China. According to the White House spokesman, the news of Pearl's fate was conveyed to his wife in person by the U.S.Consul General in Karachi. The American diplomat also informed Pearl's family in the United States by telephone, it is said. Expressions of outrage at the gruesome killing came from Capitol Hill and also from top lawmakers, who called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Richard Gephardt, called it a true American tragedy. In New York, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, spoke of the courage of Pearl and other journalists. ``The crime highlights the enormous dangers encountered by journalists, particularly in areas of conflict and violence,'' Mr. Annan said through his spokesman. There are indications that the U.S. will seek the extradition of Omar Sheikh and perhaps even Mansur Hasnain, who was involved in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu in 1999. Although publicly American authorities had been praising Islamabad for its efforts in finding Pearl, there were uneasy feelings about the abduction. Questions have been raised privately about the role of those in the Pakistani Government, who were not too thrilled at the domestic goings-on. Gen. Musharraf, during his recent visit to Washington, had said the kidnapping could have been carried out in reaction to his clampdown on Islamic extremists. He also suggested an Indian role in the abduction, an allegation that did not merit serious attention here. One perception here is that the killing will cause embarrassment to Gen. Musharraf, who seemed confident of finding the reporter. He will now come under pressure to further tighten the screws on terrorism and extremism.
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