SC issues historic mea culpa on Zulfikar Bhutto’s trial

ISLAMABAD: After a delay of more than 44 years, the Supreme Court has finally righted a historic mistake by admitting that the assassination trial of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was unfair and lacked due process. , both at the trial stage and at the confirmation of judgment. by the Court of Appeal.

“The trial by the Lahore High Court and the appellate proceedings by the Supreme Court do not satisfy the fundamental right to a fair trial and the requirements of due process enshrined in Article 4 (the right of persons to be dealt with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz Isa on Wednesday declared that as a separate and independent fundamental right under Article 9 (security of person) and later Article 10 of the Constitution. Guaranteed.

The chief justice gave the Supreme Court’s opinion on a long-pending presidential reference on whether it could review the 1979 verdict that hanged former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a decision opposed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). P) and the jurists call it a historical error.

A nine-judge bench heard a reference filed by former President Asif Ali Zardari in April 2011, seeking an opinion on the revision of the death sentence in Z.A. Bhutto case, under the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

In March 1979, almost two years after his government was overthrown by General Ziaul Haq, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in a four-to-three split decision, upheld the LHC’s decision to sentence the former prime minister to death. .