ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) reserved its opinion on Monday on the presidential reference seeking a review of the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s conviction, sentence, and execution, according to The News.
The development comes as the apex court larger bench — led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising 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 — conducted multiple hearings on the reference filed by then president Asif Ali Zardari on April 2, 2011, under Article 186 of Bhutto was executed on April 4, 1979, in the Rawalpindi district jail in a murder case. His party, on the other hand, described Bhutto’s execution as “judicial murder”.
Previously, an 11-member bigger bench of the Supreme Court, led by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, held five sessions on the presidential reference.
