DNA tests to clinch evidence on Pearl’s suspected remains

Pakistani police dug up a grave on Friday revealing 10 parts of a body. The remains were found in a garden inside a walled compound outside Karachi. The garden is located next to a small building which photographs have indicated could be where Pearl was held hostage.

Haider, who was briefed by city police on the latest developments in the Pearl case, said DNA tests had been started in Lahore, capital of cental Punjab province. ‘‘We have decided not to send the (body) parts abroad until we complete the tests in Pakistan,’’ Haider said.

British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other men are on trial for their lives on charges of kidnapping and murdering Pearl. All four have pleaded not guilty and Haider said recovery of the body would not effect the trial. ‘‘When it is confirmed that the remains are of Daniel Pearl, it will help the prosecution in the case,’’ he said.

Investigators said a member of banned Sunni Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had tipped them off to the grave’s location after being arrested following early May’s suicide bomb attack in Karachi on French naval engineers, which killed 14 people, including 11 Frenchmen. An autopsy on the body suspected to be that of Pearl has revealed that the cause of death was the severing of the neck, a doctor said on Monday.

‘‘The cervical (column) has been severed by a sharp weapon which caused the death,’’ the doctor who performed the autopsy said. ‘‘The rest of the body was cut into pieces after the person had died,’’ said the doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘‘The colour of the skin shows it is a foreigner’s body. The analysis of the soil where the body was found suggested that the death occurred between January 29 and 30.’’