Zulfikar Ali Bhutto not given a fair trial: SC announces short verdict on Presidential Reference
The judgement was telecast live from the SC.
Late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was not given a fair trial, The Supreme Court of Pakistan pronounced on Wednesday as the apex court issued its reserved opinion on the trial, sentence, and execution.
Bhutto was executed on April 4, 1979.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa read the short order and said at the outset that it was a unanimous verdict.
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.
“Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair trial and it was not per the Constitutional requirement of due process,” said CJP Isa while announcing the short verdict.
“We confront our past missteps, and infallibilities with humility in a 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,” CJP remarked.
“The reference filed by 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,” CJO added.
The court stated, “The proceedings of the trial by the LHC and the appeals by SC 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 the separate and independent fundamental right under Article 10-A of the constitution.
“Article 10-A wasn’t part of the constitution, but the principles enunciated therein have always been part of our jurisprudence,” explained CJP Isa.
The 9-member bench headed by CJP comprised 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.
The verdict on reference arrives after 12 years, which was filed by Zardari on April 2, 2011, under Article 186 of the Constitution — was taken up by the Supreme Court’s 11-member larger bench headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry which held five hearings of the reference.
The apex court resumed the hearing of the reference hearing on December 12, 2023, under a nine-member bench headed by CJP Isa following a decision to fix an instant case under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
