ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has questioned whether the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court and armed forces to correct previous mistakes and rebuild their reputations.
“Isn’t this an opportunity for both institutions to get rid of the accusations leveled against them?” the top judge said on Tuesday during a hearing on a presidential reference to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s 1979 death sentence.
The presidential reference was heard by the larger bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Isa and consisting of Justices Sardar Tariq Masood, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Amin-ud-Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
Today’s session was attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, as well as amicus curiae with criminal and constitutional experience.
CJP Isa also stated that declaring martial law is an individual choice, not one made by an army institution.
“Isn’t the verdict in the Bhutto reference draw a line for the judiciary and the army,” he went on to say.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the heirs of late PPP founder and plaintiff Ahmad Raza Kasuri in the presidential reference.
CJP Isa urged all respondents to keep their arguments brief, stating that the top court wished to conclude the case hearing before the retirement of a judge from the larger bench.
Amicus Curiae Makhdoom Ali Khan informed the bench that interviews with previous judges Naseem Hassan Shah, Dorab Patel, and Aslam Riaz had been recorded to demonstrate the judges’ prejudices in awarding capital penalty to the PPP founder.
He cited former judge Qaiser Rashid Khan’s statement that “even a cat cannot be awarded the death penalty based on the evidence” in the ZA Bhutto case.
Khan further stated that the court can announce the verdict in the ZA Bhutto case under Article 187.
During the hearing, Justice Shah stated that the court could not consider the merits of the case because the verdict had already been announced.
However, the court can investigate how the former PM was sentenced to death.
“If the court has to ascertain whether the judges announced the verdict under duress then what would be the evidence [to back the claim],” he said.
The case has been delayed until February 26.
