Ex-PM Bhutto hanged by a 'captive' court after unfair trial: SC
Pakistan
Chief Justice Isa observed that the former military dictator benefited directly from the decision
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Giving a detailed opinion about the hanging of former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Supreme Court opined that an innocent person was hanged without a transparent trial.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa observed that the former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq benefited directly from the decision to hang Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
“The country was captive to martial law and so too were its courts,” CJP Isa observed.
“When judges take oath of allegiance to dictators, the courts are no longer of the people,” he continued.
The 48-page detailed opinion authored by the chief justice explained why on March 6, the Supreme Court after 44 years of delay corrected a “historic wrong” by holding that the trial by the Lahore High Court (LHC) and then appellate court’s final endorsement lacked due process.
The detailed judgment came on a presidential reference to answer whether the Supreme Court could revisit its 1979 judgement that sent Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows. In March 1979, nearly two years after the ouster of ZAB by a military dictator, a seven-judge SC bench in a four-three ruling upheld the LHC verdict of death sentence handed down to the former prime minister.
