The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday issued its reserved opinion on the trial, sentence, and execution of the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, saying that he did not get a chance to a “fair trial”.
A nine-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, reserved its opinion on the 2011 presidential reference seeking to revisit the sentence, and execution of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder and former premier Bhutto on Monday.
The bench also comprises Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
“Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair trial and it was not by the Constitutional requirement of due process,” said CJP Isa while announcing the short order.
Bhutto had been hanged to death on April 4, 1979, following a verdict of the Supreme Court in a murder case that his party termed as “judicial murder.”
After the filing of a presidential reference, an 11-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, conducted five hearings in the presidential reference.
The hearing was resumed by the current chief justice on December 12 following a decision to fix an instant case under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, taken by a three-member committee comprising CJP Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
The order
At the outset of the hearing, CJP Isa said: First of all, let me announce the good news [that] it is a unanimous order.”
Reading the short order, the chief justice said that the judges are bound to “do right to all manner of people according to law without fear of favor, affection or ill will”.
“We must, therefore, be willing to confront our past missteps and infelicities with humility in the spirit of self-accountability and as a testament to our commitment to ensure that justice shall be serving with unwavering, integrity and fidelity to the law,” said the CJP.
The CJP said that the “reference files that the president of Pakistan has provided us an opportunity to reflect upon the proceedings of the trial, conviction, and death sentence of Bhutto under the regime of military dictator Gen Zia ul Haq.”
