Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has urged the federal government to make a request to the Supreme Court for early hearing of the long-awaited presidential reference seeking reopening of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case.

People’s Lawyer Forum Chairman and PPP General Secretary Sardar Latif Khosa advocate told Daily Times that since the presidential reference was sent by the head of the state, it was now the responsibility of incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government to file an application through the attorney general of Pakistan for early hearing of the case.

He said that the matter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “is a stain on the face of the judiciary”, adding that dignity of the judiciary – the third organ of the state – should be restored.

Despite a lapse of more than four decades, historical error of the judiciary pertaining to the PPP’s founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto murder case had not been rectified.

“To wash such a stain, on April 2, 2011, the PPP regime had sent a presidential reference under Article 186, seeking reopening of Bhutto’s case and murder trial. But the reference is still pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and has not been decided despite passage of more than five years.”

Khosa said that the trial was a mockery of justice. He claimed that the PPP had time and again requested the top court to take up the matter. He said that Zulfikar Ali “Bhutto was awarded death penalty by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 1979 in a murder case during the dictatorship of then military ruler General Ziaul Haq”.

“The apex court had also upheld the LHC decision. After the former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Dr Nasim Hasan Shah’s acknowledgement – that Bhutto’s conviction was a judicial murder – the [judicial] opinion over the reference could set an example in the country’s judicial and national history,” the PPP general secretary said.

PPP’s Babar Awan had appeared as then PPP-led federal government’s counsel, but on January 17, 2012, his practicing licence was suspended for criticising the court’s order in the memogate controversy, he said, adding that the government had later asked Aitzaz Ahsan to pursue the matter.

Khosa said that in December 2011, then CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had remarked that the top court could not declare anyone innocent or guilty in the case, but could give its opinion under Article 186.

“On January 2, 2012, the top court had also issued a notice to Ahmed Raza Kasuri, the person who got an FIR lodged against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for his father’s murder.

He, however, submitting a reply, had opposed reopening of the case, stating that then president Asif Ali Zardari was an ‘interested party’. Likewise, on January 13, 2012, during the course of hearing, former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry had reiterated that the Supreme Court could only advise on the presidential reference, as the court’s authority was restricted on this issue.”

Sardar Latif Khosa said that presently, the PML-N was a ruling party; therefore, the legal opinion was divided – whether the federal government can withdraw the presidential reference regarding the revisiting of ZAB murder case or not.

The hearing of the presidential reference was last held on November 11, 2012, but Aitzaz Ahsan could not appear, as he was in Karachi. It is pertinent to mention here that the PML-N-led Punjab government in 2011 had opposed the revisiting of presidential reference under Article 186 of the constitution. However, the then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by the Awami National Party (ANP) had supported the federal government’s stance.