Pakistani police have beefed up security around a detention center in Karachi, where authorities are holding a key suspect in the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

AP
A suspect covered with a white cloth said by police to be Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind behind Pearl's abduction

Police say extra security was put in place late Tuesday after they received an anonymous telephone call threatening rocket attacks on the center if the suspect, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, is handed over to the United States.

The British-born Islamic militant, widely known as Sheikh Omar, is also wanted in the United States in connection with the kidnapping of an American tourist in India in 1994.

On Tuesday, a White House spokesman (Ari Fleischer) said the United States has "made clear" its desire to have Sheikh Omar sent to the United States. He said the U.S. request was well-received by Pakistan but he cautioned not to expect an instant resolution.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf discussed the matter by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and in person with the U.S. ambassador to Islamabad, Wendy Chamberlin.

Sheikh Omar said earlier this month he was responsible for the abduction of the Wall Street Journal reporter, who disappeared in Karachi on January 23rd. A week later, Pakistani and U.S. investigators received a grisly videotape that showed Mr. Pearl's throat being slit. The tape gives no indication as to when or where he was killed.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters.

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