Bilawal hails ‘historic’ opinion on Bhutto trial after 44 years

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)  chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hailed the opinion of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the trial of his illustrious grandfather and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Bilawal was in court as the opinion was being read and could be seen wiping his face with a handkerchief after the court announced the much-anticipated opinion on the death sentence awarded to Bhutto, which the PPP and jurists regard as a historic wrong.

The Supreme Court observed that the trial under the 1979 judgment that sentenced former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death did not meet the requirements of a “fair trial and due process”.

A nine-judge bench Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa announced its anticipated opinion on the presidential reference seeking the court’s opinion on revisiting the verdict regarded as a historic wrong.

Speaking to reporters, the PPP chairman called the court’s views “historic” and hoped that, 44 years later, the SC’s opinion would allow Pakistan to progress and that the “system” would finally be put on the right path.

“The stain of this decision made it difficult for the people of Pakistan to have faith in the court, and get justice from this court, especially if someone like the prime minister did not get justice,” Bilawal said.

In a post on social media site X, Bilawal noted that the SC’s opinion came “44 years after judicial murder and more than 12 years after [the] presidential reference was filed”.

“The pursuit of justice was a labour of love by President Asif Ali Zardari in the name of his wife Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Our family waited 3 generations to hear these words.”

His sister Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari said the apex court “unanimously concludes that our grandfather was a victim of an unfair trial”. She thanked her father for “filing [the] reference to correct history”.

Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari said her grandfather’s “blood stains the steps of the Supreme Court”. In a post on X, she called it “a permanent reminder of the grave injustice that weighs heavily on those hallowed halls”. “Over four decades later, justice has finally prevailed,” Aseefa added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the PPP leadership and workers and said by admitting the mistake in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s trial, the Supreme Court’s opinion on the presidential reference had set a new history and tradition.

The prime minister congratulated Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari, and PPP leadership and workers for the Supreme Court’s observation that former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair trial.

“It is not possible to correct the past mistake but by admitting the serious mistake, a new history and a new tradition have been set,” the prime minister remarked in a statement.

He said that rectification of an injustice of a court by the court was a positive development. “The unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court in the Bhutto reference will help understand the history at the national level through the right perspective. The process of national unity and development can be accelerated only by correcting the past mistakes and doing away with the bitterness,” Prime Minister Shehbaz remarked.