ISLAMABAD, Mar 6: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, executed by the military regime of Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1979, did not receive a fair trial and due process, the Supreme Court opined unanimously on Wednesday in a much-anticipated review of the high-profile case.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa announced the opinion of a nine-member larger bench of the apex court during the hearing of a presidential reference related to the death sentence given to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder.
It is based on a special case sent in 2011 by then president Asif Ali Zardari to the Supreme Court to revisit his father-in-law Bhutto’s conviction for abetment in a murder case and his eventual hanging on April 4, 1979.
On March 18, 1978, the Lahore High Court sentenced Bhutto to death for allegedly ordering the assassination of Ahmed Reza Kasuri, one of the founding members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Announcing the unanimous opinion, Isa said, “The proceedings of the trial by the Lahore High Court and the appeal by the Supreme Court of Pakistan do not meet the requirements of the fundamental right to a fair trial and due process enshrined in Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution and later guaranteed as a separate and fundamental right under Article 10A of the Constitution.”
The apex court voiced its opinion but also ruled that the verdict of Bhutto’s death sentence could not be changed as the Constitution and law did not allow so, and it would be maintained as a verdict.
As the opinion was read out, the late Bhutto’s grandson, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and could be seen wiping his face with a handkerchief.
Bilawal, former Foreign minister and chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) described the court’s views “historic”, adding that they were awaiting the detailed opinion.
He hoped that, 44 years later, the apex court’s opinion would allow Pakistan to progress, and that the “system” would finally be put on the right path.
“The stain of this decision made it difficult for the people of Pakistan to have faith in the court, and get justice from this court, especially if someone like the Prime Minister did not get justice,” Bilawal said. He thanked the judges and amici curiae for hearing and fighting the case.(PTI)
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