Photo released of man identified as Daniel Pearl

A Pakistani court has ordered the continued detention of three men accused of involvement in the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl, who disappeared more than two weeks ago.

The special anti-terrorism court in the southern city of Karachi remanded the suspects into custody for an additional 14 days, after a brief hearing Tuesday.

Authorities have accused the three of sending e-mails, announcing the abduction of Mr. Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter.

The men were taken to the court in an armored personnel carrier guarded by machine-gun toting policemen. They entered the building in chains and with blankets and towels over their faces.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities are continuing their search for the main suspect in the case, British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is said to have plotted the kidnapping. Authorities say Sheikh Omar may have fled to the eastern city of Lahore. However, they say they believe Mr. Pearl is alive and is still in Karachi, where he was taken hostage.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is due to arrive in Washington Tuesday. It is expected that the Pearl case will be high on the agenda during talks with President Bush on Wednesday.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AP and AFP.

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