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.

Written order

The short order of the court said that the reference had invoked SC’ advisory jurisdiction under article 186. As such the main question was not to examine the merits of the case but to see if fairness and due process had been followed in the case’s proceedings.

“To us, the question of law, in essence, is whether the requirements of due process and fair trial were complied with in the murder trial of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,” the order read.

The court said that its opinion was sought on the following questions

1. Whether the decision … in the murder trial against Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto meets the requirements of fundamental rights..?
2. Whether the conviction leading to execution of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto could be termed as a decision of the Supreme Court binding on all other courts… ?
3. Whether in the peculiar circumstances of this case awarding and maintaining of the death sentence was justified or it could amount to deliberate murder keeping in view the glaring bias against Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto?
4. Whether the decision in the case of murder trial against Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto fulfils the requirements of Islamic laws as codified in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW)?
5. Whether on the basis of conclusions arrived at and inferences drawn from the evidence/material in the case an order for conviction and sentence against Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto could have been recorded?

Of these questions, the court only definitively answered the firs question, saying that due process of law was not followed in awarding the death sentence to Bhutto. It also added that the trial did not meet the requirements of the fundamental right of fair trial given in the constitution.

It also clarified that the judgement cannot be set aside, since there is no mechanism in the law to do it.

“The Constitution and the law do not provide a mechanism to set aside the judgment whereby Mr. Bhutto was convicted and sentenced; the said judgment attained finality after the dismissal of the review petition by this Court,” it read.

Combining questions 3 and 5, the court said it cannot reappraise the evidence in the case.

“However, in our detailed reasons, we shall identify the major constitutional and legal lapses that had occurred with respect to fair trial and due process,” it read.

The court also did not comment on the fifth question four regarding the murder trial verdict being in line with Islamic teachings, as no support was lent to the court in this regard.

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.