Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court Tuesday adjourned the hearing till January next year of a long-pending presidential case seeking to revisit the 1979 controversial death penalty given to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
A nine-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, took up the case for hearing, which was filed by former President Asif Ali Zardari April 2, 2011, for an opinion on revisiting the death sentence handed to Bhutto, his father-in-law, under the Supreme Court’s advisory jurisdiction.
Bhutto, 51, was hanged to death in 1979 after he was convicted of abetment in a murder case. The execution was carried out after a seven-member Supreme Court upheld the conviction, which many believe was done under coercion exercised by the then military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq who had toppled Bhutto’s government in 1977.
Previously, an 11-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had conducted five hearings on the case, including the last in January 2012.
At Tuesday’s hearing, the proceedings were broadcast live at the request of Bhutto’s grandson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The court also appointed nine more amici curiae (friends of the court) to assist it.
Advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri, who had lodged the first information report against Bhutto alleging that his father was killed on the orders of the then-former prime minister, also appeared before the bench and requested the court to hear his arguments. His plea was accepted.
“Every legal heir has the right to be heard,” the chief justice Isa remarked.
The court, which had already appointed legal experts Makhdom Ali Khan and Ali Ahmed Kurd as amici curiae, asked them to explain what kind of opinion is required from the court in the case and how the case is maintainable.
Chief Justice Isa observed that the court had already dismissed the appeal against its verdict which had also achieved the finality.
He sought assistance in determining the questions of law regarding opening a judgment that had achieved finality. “The Supreme Court can’t hear another appeal on the matter. How can we re-hear the matter that has been closed?” Isa asked.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah raised questions over the case seeking to review the death sentence given to Bhutto.
The bench in its order also directed Geo News channel to submit a record of late PM Bhutto’s interviews and video clips.
Later the court adjourned the hearing of the case till January 2024 and announced holding a day-to-day hearing on the case from next month.
“No adjournment will be granted when the hearing starts in January,” the top court order stated.
Bhutto is revered as a symbol of resistance to undemocratic forces in Pakistan and a champion of the underdog.
PTI