The Supreme Court is announcing its much-anticipated opinion on the long-pending presidential reference to answer whether it can revisit its 1979 judgement that sent Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows, a verdict that PPP and jurists regard as a historic wrong.
Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, a nine-judge bench is hearing the reference filed in April 2011 on behalf of former president Asif Ali Zardari seeking an opinion under the Supreme Court’s advisory jurisdiction on revisiting the death sentence awarded to the PPP founder.
The proceedings are being broadcast live on the Supreme Court’s website and YouTube channel.
In March 1979, nearly two years after the Bhutto’s government’s ouster by the then military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq, a seven-judge SC bench, in a split four-three verdict, upheld the Lahore High Court’s verdict awarding death sentence to the former premier.
During the closing of the reference hearing on Monday, CJP Isa had observed that the court would announce a short order on the reference in a couple of days after consultation since one of the bench members, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, is retiring soon.
Ahmed Raza Qasuri, on whose complaint the murder case was registered against former PM Bhutto, pointed out that the court had not crossed the hurdle of admissibility of the reference and feared that any opinion by the apex court would open up the floodgates of references inundating the court with tsunami of cases like the Jan 13 denial of ‘bat’ symbol to the PTI.
More to follow
