ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan issued its reserved verdict on the presidential reference against the execution of the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, saying that he did not get a chance for a fair trial as per law and constitution.
On Monday, the nine-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, reserved its opinion on the 2011 presidential reference seeking to revisit the death sentence of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder and former premier Bhutto on Monday.
In addition to CJP Qazi Faez Isa, Justices Sardar Tariq Masood, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Yahya Afridi, Amin-ud-din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Musarrat Hilali make up the bench.
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Supreme Court opinion on ZAB Presidential reference
The top court today issued a short opinion and the detailed order will be released later.
CJP Isa in a brief order, said, “Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair trial and it was not by the Constitutional requirement of due process.”
On April 4, 1979, Bhutto was executed by hanging after the Supreme Court ruled in a murder case that his party referred to as “judicial murder.”
Talking to the media outside the Supreme Court, PPP leader Sherry Rehman stated that the interviews were aired in court and that the judicial assistants were paying attention to the case’s proceedings.
The PPP’s leader hoped for a fair judgment and that the legal verdict would set an example for the rest of the world.
Read More: Supreme Court Reserves Verdict in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Reference
The decision to fix an instant case under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 was made by a three-member committee made up of CJP Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, and Justice Ijazul Ahsan. As a result, the hearing was started by the current chief justice on December 12.
In 2011, an 11-member bigger bench of the Supreme Court led by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry held five sessions in the presidential reference following the filing of the referral by then president Asif Ali Zardari.
