Bilawal says ZAB reference ‘a test as well as an opportunity’ for judiciary

PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the presidential reference against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death sentence is “a test as well as an opportunity” for the Supreme Court to “correct history”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Talking to media men outside the Supreme Court after the hearing on Tuesday, Bilawal Bhutto offered thanks to the apex court and its judges for resuming the hearing. “We are thankful to the court. We believe that while this is a test for our judiciary, it is at the same time also an opportunity,” he remarked.

قائد عوام شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو پر جو الزام تھا کہ آپ نے فلاں بندے کو قتل کرنے کی کوشش کی وہ بندہ زندہ ہے، آج بھی آپ کے سامنے پریس کانفرنس کررہا تھا، کورٹ میں موجود تھا، مگر شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کو اسے قتل کرنے پر شہید کردیا گیا۔”
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری… pic.twitter.com/xc1Kc7k3g2

— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) December 12, 2023

Bilawal recalled that he had filed a petition in 2018 seeking to become a party in the case and his request was accepted today. “We surely want justice for Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, surely we want answers to the questions raised by the president in the reference, surely we want the stain on the judiciary to be removed,” he added.

Bilawal maintained “You can’t bring back Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, or all the other PPP workers … but we expect that the CJP and his brother judges will do what they can.”

اس ملک کے کسی بھی شخص کو تب تک انصاف نہیں مل سکتا جب تک قائد عوام شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کو انصاف نہیں ملتا۔ پاکستان کے عوام اس ادارے کو انصاف دینے والا ادارہ تب ہی مانیں گے جب قائد عوام شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کو انصاف ملے گا۔

چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری… pic.twitter.com/ToHKlWwEqw

— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) December 12, 2023

The PPP chairman demanded that the nation should be told that Bhutto was innocent. “We want the judiciary to fix the history, wash the blood off its hands and expose those involved in this crime,” he said, adding “We hope the judiciary is now committed to restoring the nation’s trust in the institution.”

He said the judiciary should take a decision that would set a precedent for the upcoming times.