KATHMANDU: Pakistan's Supreme Court today ordered the release of the man convicted of beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The court overturned the death sentence handed to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, convicted of kidnapping and murdering the US journalist. According to the Washington Post, the Supreme Court's decision on Thursday followed a move by a provincial court last year to overturn Saeed's sentence.

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The Post quoted Pearl's family laywer Faisal Siddiqi as saying that the decision has left Pearl's family in complete shock. He called the decision "a complete travesty of justice."

Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had gone to Pakistan to cover story on militants in Pakistan in the aftermath of twin-tower attack of September 11, 2001, in the United States.

While covering the news, Pearl was told that he was meeting with a radical cleric when instead he was kidnapped, held for days, and beheaded in 2002.

FILE PHOTO: A portrait of the Wall Street Journal's reporter Daniel Pearl stands with a candle at the altar at Fleet Street's journalists chapel St Brides Church prior to a memorial service in London March 5, 2002. Pearl was murdered after being captured in Pakistan and held hostage as his captors attempted to bargain the release of prisoners held by the US in Cuba. Photo: REUTERS/Ian Waldie
FILE PHOTO: A portrait of the Wall Street Journal's reporter Daniel Pearl stands with a candle at the altar at Fleet Street's journalists chapel St Brides Church prior to a memorial service in London March 5, 2002. Pearl was murdered after being captured in Pakistan and held hostage as his captors attempted to bargain the release of prisoners held by the US in Cuba. Photo: REUTERS/Ian Waldie

FILE - In this March 29, 2002 file photo, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind behind Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnap-slaying, appears at the court in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 has ordered the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh's acquittal by Pearl's family. Photo: AP
FILE - In this March 29, 2002 file photo, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind behind Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnap-slaying, appears at the court in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 has ordered the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh's acquittal by Pearl's family. Photo: AP