British-born al Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three aides, whose release was ordered by a court in Karachi on Thursday, are expected to walk out of prison on Saturday.
Sheikh and his aides had been convicted for the murder of The Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
Sheikh was one of three terrorists released by the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in late 1999 after Pakistani militants hijacked an Indian Airlines flight in Kathmandu.
India released Sheikh, Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar in exchange for about 150 passengers after the Indian Airlines flight was diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan, by the hijackers. Masood Azhar went on to found the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Sheikh had been serving a prison term in India for kidnapping western tourists.
A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered the release of Sheikh and his three aides— Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil — who were convicted and sentenced in the case.
