Requirements of fair trial were not met in late PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case, writes CJP
Justice Yahya Afridi says pressure exerted on bench hearing Bhutto case affected provision of justice; Praises three judges on the bench for their impartiality
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Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi has said that the late prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), did not get a ‘fair trial’ in the case which ultimately culminated in a death penalty, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.
In his additional note on the opinion given by the Supreme Court (SC) on the presidential reference related to the former prime minister’s hanging, the CJP has said that under Article 186 of the constitution, the apex court’s jurisdiction is merely advisory, and it could not annul any previous decision.
The judge goes on to say that the reference might not have been filed, but some factors necessitated its filing. “It is necessary to go through some of the points of the former CJP Nasim Hassan Shah’s interview. The pressure exerted on the judiciary in the extraordinary political circumstances of those times affected the provision of justice. It all was in conflict with the notion of freedom of the judiciary,” he has written.
The CJP has said that in that hostile environment, Justice Durab Patel, Justice Muhammad Haleem and Justice Safdar Shah’s difference of opinion with the majority decision was quite courageous. “Although their dissent failed to change the apex court’s decision, still it vindicated the principles of impartiality.”
Justice Afridi has also said that he has read the notes penned down by the ex-CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa and other judges, who were members of the bench, which heard the reference. “I agree with some contents of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s note,” he has said.
The Supreme Court had on March 7, 2024 ruled that the trial of the former prime minister in a case during the military regime of General Ziaul Haq in 1979 was not fair.
A nine-member bench of the apex court, headed by then CJP Qazi Faez Isa announced its opinion on the presidential reference filed in 2011 under Article 186 of the constitution.
Other members on the bench were Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori