The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a written order regarding the previous hearing on a presidential reference against former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's sentence.
According to 24NewsHD TV channel, the court will resume the hearing after the forthcoming general election, stressing that important matters are coming before the top court, and it wants to hear the reference in detail, it be fixed for hearing in the third week of February.
On December 12, 2023, the nine-member Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, again took up the reference filed in 2011 under Article 186 of the Constitution by former president Asif Ali Zardari.
In 1977, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced a controversial trial resulting in his execution after Gen Ziaul-Haq toppled his elected government. The reference is based on the assertion by former top judge Naseem Hasan Shah that the trial bench was influenced by the Gen Zia rule.