Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Omar Sheikh, who was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in July 2002 for masterminding the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau chief Daniel Pearl in February 2002.

The top court dismissed Sindh government's appeal to reject Sindh High Court (SHC)'s 2020 ruling that overturned his conviction.

According to local media reports, one of the three judges opposed the decision.

In April 2020, the SHC commuted Sheikh's death sentence for murder to seven years in jail for kidnapping.

Sheikh has spent 18 years behind bars. After pleading not guilty for almost two decades, he confessed to playing a "minor role" in Pearl's case in a handwritten note in 2019.

The letter was submitted to the Supreme Court two weeks ago. Sheikh's lawyer confirmed on Wednesday that his client wrote it, without giving any details of his "minor" involvement.

Pearl's family reacted to the verdict in a statement released by their lawyer. "Today's decision is a complete travesty of justice and the release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan," it read.

As per Pakistan's law, the Pearl family can file a review petition asking the apex court to reconsider its decision.

Last month, the then-acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said that the United States "stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial here."

Sheikh is expected to walk free by Friday. He is a British citizen of Pakistani extraction. He was arrested in India in 1994 in connection with the kidnapping of three British and one American tourists.

He was freed in exchange for passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked from Kathmandu to Kandahar in December 1999.

(With input from agencies)