ISLAMABAD – A larger bench of the Supreme Court announced the reserved order, stating that former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was not given a fair trial in the murder case.
Bhutto’s grandson and current PPP Chairman Bilawal was present in the court when the short order on the Presidential reference was announced.
Pakistan’s top court announced order on 5 question asked in the presidential reference:
1) Was the murder trial conducted in accordance with the basic human rights outlined in Constitution?
2) Can Supreme Court’s decision on execution serve as a judicial precedent?
3) Was Z.A Bhutto’s death sentence fair and impartial?
4) Was Bhutto’s death sentence rationale as per Quranic principles?
5) Was the evidence against Bhutto sufficient to declare him convict?
The apex court concluded the hearing of presidential reference regarding the 1979 verdict in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case as the harrowing incident remains the only instance in the history of South Asian nation that a former premier was hanged.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa led the bench earlier reserved the short order in the case, with a brief version to be revealed on Wednesday. During the hearing, there was a discussion on the possibility of issuing a brief opinion using Article 187 of the Constitution.
The country’s top court took up the presidential reference filed in April 2011 by former President Asif Ali Zardari, seeking an opinion on death sentence awarded to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
During the hearing, the Additional Attorney General informed the court that the government was trying to ascertain how Masood Mehmood, the former chief of the Federal Security Force who later became an approver in the case, left country and moved to United States, where he eventually breathed his last.
Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri, the complainant in the case against Bhutto, expressed concerns that any opinion by Supreme Court could lead to a flood of references, which would dent the court’s dignity.
Lahore High Court sentenced Bhutto to death in 1978 for ordering an alleged assassination attempt. The reference was sent to the apex court during PPP’s rule between 2008 and 2013, seeking an opinion based on the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
More to follow…
