Zulfikar Ali Bhutto didn’t get a fair trial: SC

ISLAMABAD: 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.

The bench consisted of 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.

The reference filed in April 2011 on behalf of former president Asif Ali Zardari sought an opinion under the Supreme Court’s advisory jurisdiction on revisiting the death sentence awarded to the PPP founder and former prime minister in 1979.

Announcing the opinion, CJP Isa said, “The proceedings of the trial by the Lahore High Court and of the appeal by the Supreme Court of Pakistan do not meet the requirements of the fundamental right to a fair trial and due process enshrined in Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution, and later guaranteed as a separate and fundamental right under Article 10A of the Constitution.”

The SC acknowledged that there had been “some cases in our judicial history that created a public perception that either fear or favour deterred the performance of a duty to administer justice in accordance with the law”.

“We must therefore be willing to confront our past missteps and fallibilities with humility, in the spirit of self-accountability, and as a testament to our commitment to ensure that justice must be served with unwavering integrity and fidelity to the law,” Justice Isa said.

“We cannot correct ourselves and progress in the right direction until we acknowledge our past mistakes,” he added.

The CJP stated that the SC was empowered to render an opinion on any “question of law” of public importance under Article 186 of the Constitution.

He said that the reference provided an opportunity to “reflect upon the proceedings of the trial, conviction and death sentence of Mr Bhutto under the regime of military dictator General Ziaul Haq”.\

He recalled that the reference was filed during the government of the PPP and that the successive governments didn’t withdraw the case.

Noting that the reference had asked five questions, the CJP read out the opinion to one of those: “The Constitution and the law do not provide a mechanism to set aside the judgment whereby Bhutto was convicted and sentenced.”

Referring to a question asked on the principle of law, the SC said, “Referenced questions do not specify the principle of law enunciated by this court in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case, regarding which our opinion is sought. Therefore, it cannot be answered whether any principle of law enunciated in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case has been dissented to or overruled”.

On the question of whether the awarding and maintaining of the death sentence was “justified or could amount to deliberate murder”, CJP Isa observed:

“This court cannot reappraise the evidence and undo the decision of the case. However, in our detailed reasons, we shall identify the major constitutional and legal lapses hat had occurred with regard to fair trial and due process.”