Bhutto case: CJP questions if SC, prosecution or then martial law administrator guilty

Islamabad: The hearing of the presidential reference regarding the judicial killing of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Supreme Court has been adjourned till the third week of February.

According to the details, a nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa heard the presidential reference regarding the judicial killing of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

During the hearing of the case, Ahmad Raza Kasuri came to the rostrum, on which the CJP prevented him from speaking and asked him to sit in his seat and let the judicial assistant speak first, if you have objection something he says, write it down.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah inquired the legal question that if based on an interview, they should review the decision of the Supreme Court and give an opinion. 

He further inquired if the court should conduct an inquiry based on an interview of a judge while there were other judges on the bench.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah further said, ‘Should we start a blocker inquiry to the people related to the interview? We cannot say that it happened just by watching a video of an interview, under Article 186 the court can only give an opinion on questions of law’.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar added that also tell us what legal question has been asked in the Bhutto reference.

Lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan read out Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada's letter in which it was written that Zulfiqar Bhutto's sister had filed a mercy appeal before the President of the country, he himself had not filed any mercy appeal.

Judicial assistant Makhdoom Ali Khan said that the question before the court is not about the execution of Zulfiqar Bhutto, his execution cannot be reversed due to malice, the matter before the court is a matter of one spot. The execution should be carried out in a ratio of four to three. Later a judge said in an interview that he gave the verdict under duress.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked if the court made a decision in this case or will it have to do the same for every decision.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that a legal question which I understood was that the decision of Zulfiqar Bhutto case was wrong, only one judge was interviewed in this case and other judges also remained silent.

The Chief Justice said that in every criminal case where there is politics and no justice, the court should hear it again.

Justice Qazi Faez stated: “You said that at that time there was martial law and a former prime minister was hanged, you should work hard and tell me why the court cannot reopen the rest of the cases. The President also sent the references of the remaining cases, in this case there is an interview of a judge, in the remaining cases there will be something else”.

Makhdoom Ali Khan continued that in criminal cases where politics is involved, justice should be there. To which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah replied that the revision jurisdiction has been used in the Zulfikar Bhutto case, now what procedures are left to have this court's jurisdiction.

Judicial Assistant Makhdoom said that this decision is an abuse of justice. On which the CJP inquired whether the Supreme Court is guilty in this, or is the prosecution and the then martial law administrator to blame.

The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on the presidential reference in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case till the third week of February.