ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) is likely to take up a presidential reference next week for revisiting the founder of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's murder case judgement.

On April 2, 2011, the then-president Asif Ali Zardari and the president of the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) approached the SC through a presidential reference under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan to seek its opinion on revisiting Bhutto’s trial. However, the reference has remained undecided for the past 12 years.

The committee comprising three senior judges, including Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will decide on the fixation of the case and composition of the bench on Thursday.

Babar Awan, who has now joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had earlier appeared as the federal government’s counsel in the case and had given lengthy arguments. However, on January 17, 2012, Awan's law practising licence was suspended for criticising the court’s order in the Memogate case.

 The last time the apex court took up the presidential reference case was on November 11, 2012, but the PPP’s counsel and leader, Aitzaz Ahsan could not appear as he had travelled to Karachi to attend the funeral of the late Iqbal Haider, a party stalwart and a senior advocate of the SC.

Accepting the five preliminary questions of law regarding revising the former prime minister's case, the SC on April 21, 2011, nominated several legal experts to assist it over the issue as 'amicus curiae' or friends of the court. It should be noted that some of the amici have passed away.

On January 2, 2012, the SC also issued notice to Ahmed Raza Kasuri, the man who had lodged a first information report (FIR) against the PPP founder. Kasuri, in his reply, had opposed the reopening of the case arguing that the president was an ‘interested party’.

It is important to mention that the SC's judgment on the hanging of Bhutto has never been referred to as a precedent by the judges in any case.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 07 2023

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