White House Works to Free Reporter

The U.S. is working to free a Wall Street Journal reporter taken hostage in Pakistan, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

U.S. officials have been in contact with authorities in Pakistan about the disappearance of Daniel Pearl, 38, and will “give whatever help can be given” to obtain his release. “He was a journalist just trying to do his job. This is a serious matter, and it is being pursued by the United States government,” Fleischer said.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell discussed the case in a telephone conversation with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and “noted our strong interest in seeing it resolved,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Pearl has been missing since Wednesday, when he left to meet with members of a radical Islamic group in Karachi that was believed to have ties to Al Qaeda.