The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its judgment in the Bhutto reference as the nine-member bench completed the process of hearing the arguments of all the parties concerned.
The court will announce the verdict some other day, Chief Justice Faez Isa remarked, as Ahmed Raza Kasuri – the complainant whose application resulted in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s hanging – was the last one to present his arguments. During the hearing, the chief justice questioned why the attackers had chosen that time and place for the ambush in the presence of other individuals, if he was the target, and whether it was a result of poor planning and conspiracy.
They didn’t know that other people were also travelling in the car, Kasuri replied.
The Supreme Court started hearing the reference on Dec 12 last year which was filed against the conviction, sentencing and hanging of Bhutto – the PPP founding chairman and the first democratically-elected prime minister of Pakistan.
In a written order issued the same day, the apex court said the hearing would be conducted on a daily basis and decided to appoint nine legal experts as amici curiae to assist the bench in deciding the matter.
The court also issued notice to a private TV channel to share the full interview of the late Justice Nasim Hasan Shah, in which he had described the episode as judicial murder.
On the other hand, the court order also mentions that the PPP leader and senior lawyer Farooq H. Naek would be responsible for providing the transcript of an interview given by the late Justice Dorab Patel.
Patel was among the three judges who went against the majority view held by four others as the Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by Bhutto.
He would have become the Chief Justice of Pakistan, if he had not opted to resign after the then military dictator Ziaul Haq issued a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on March 24, 1981, asking the top judiciary judges to take oath on it.
As the hearing started, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari submitted an application to become a party in the matter, with Naek informing the court that he would be his counsel as well.
Chief Justice Isa observed that they could hear him both as an heir and the political party and expressed his regret that the case wasn’t fixed for hearing earlier, as the entire Pakistan is able to watch the historic event unfolding – the outcome of which can lead to massive consequences at judicial, social and political levels.
Meanwhile, Kasuri also requested the court to allow him to present his arguments and claimed that no legal point was raised in the reference. However, the chief justice said they would first hear the arguments of Attorney General Mansoor Awan, who was directed to begin by reading out the reference.
Reading out the reference and replying to various questions raised by the judges, the attorney general said the late Justice Nasim Hasan Shah – who was part of the seven-member bench rejecting the appeal submitted by Bhutto and later also served as the Chief Justice of Pakistan – had said in an interview that it was a judicial murder and admitted in another that one had to accept the orders of those imposing martial law in the country.
He replied in no when Chief Justice Isa asked him whether the original police record [concerning the case and investigation] was found. However, Naek, who is representing the plaintiff, informed the court that the police record consisted of three bundles of documents.
Given the sensitive nature of the matter, the chief justice also touched upon the availability of senior legal experts to play the role of amicus curiae – a legal term meaning “friend of the court” which can be a person or organisation offering the court additional information or perspective about the case.
When he asked whether Aitzaz Ahsan would assist the court by becoming amicus curiae, his assistant lawyer, who was present in the courtroom, said his senior won’t be available. It is worth noting that Aitzaz – a PPP leader – nowadays is very close to the former PTI chairman and has been representing him in different cases with another party leader Latif Khosa playing the role of his lead lawyer while heading the legal team.
Interestingly, Babar Awan – also a former PPP leader who originally drafted and filed the reference – has become a close aide of the PTI while sharing his advice on important legal and political matters.