A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court said on Wednesay that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was not afforded a fair trial and due process in the murder trial against him in 1979.
The opinion was announced in the presidential reference against the decision to sentence former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death in 1979.
Justice Isa said that the court had to decide if the principles of fair trial were followed in the case at all its stages including the appeal in SC. He said that the bench had unanimously found that Bhutto was not given a fair trial as enshrined in the constitution.
’Some cases in our judicial history have created a public perception that either fear or favour deterred the perfomance of our duty to adminster justice in accordance with the law,“ Justice Isa said.
The opinion added that the court must be willing to confront its mistakes in the past with a spirit of humility. Justice Isa added that progress cannot be made without acknowledging mistakes.
However, the judge also added that the case had been closed after the SC appeal and would not be reopened after this opinion.
A tear-eyed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stood at the dais as Justice Isa announced its opinion.
The court had reserved its opinion after arguments were completed in the case on Monday.
The reference had been sent to the SC in 2011 by then President Asif Zardari under Article 186 of the constitution, asking the apex court to revisit the case.
The case had alleged that Bhutto had ordered the murder of Ahmad Reza Kasuri, a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Kasuri had filed the case after his vehicle came under fire in Lahore, killing his father.
The Lahore High Court had sentenced Bhutto to death in 1978. The decision was upheld by the SC by a majority of 4-3 in February 1979.
The former prime minister was executed a few months later on April 4, 1979.
Bilawal speaks after verdict
Speaking outside the SC after the opinion was announced, Bilawal said that the court had taken a ‘historic’ step.
He added that the court had acknowledged that wrong decisions have been made in the past.
Bilawal thanked the lawyers and all the judges of the bench as well as the people who assisted the court in the case.
He expressed optimism that the country’s system would start moving in the right direction after Wednesday’s decision.
