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Attorney General John Ashcroft made the announcement to mediapersons in Washington.
Pearl was abducted when he was in Karachi in connection with a story. At present, Omar is in the custody of the Pakistani authorities.
Explaining the reasons for the indictment, Ashcroft said, "We are signalling our clear interest in trying him on these charges and in bringing him to justice in the US."
Significantly, some documents produced in the court in connection with the case may raise a lot of interest in India.
These documents indicate that Omar had been indicted in the US last year in connection with the 1994 abduction of an American in India, though the indictment had been kept under wraps.
In the Pearl case, Omar was charged with hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking.
US has broached the issue of Omar's extradition with Pakistan, which has said that it would like to prosecute Omar in connection with Pearl's case.
Though the two nations have no formal agreement, Pakistan has previously extradited suspects to the US.
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