LAHORE – The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry on Monday allowed the Law Ministry to inspect the record of murder case against former Prime Minister Zulifkar Ali Bhutto.
An application was submitted to the LHC registrar Abdus Sattar Asghar, stating that a presidential reference has been filed in the Supreme Court to revisit the verdict which the PPP claimed was judicial murder. It was further stated that the government needed to inspect the record so it could assist apex court.
The Registrar sought approval from LHC CJ Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who allowed the application. The Law Minister’s senior consultant advocate Arif Chaudhry will inspect the record today (Tuesday).
A five member bench of LHC headed by Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmad held Bhutto trial for five months and awarded a death sentence to him on March 18, 1978. Bhutto’s family filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. A seven member bench upheld his death sentence in its February 6,1979 verdict with a 4 to 3 majority. His review petition was also dismissed On March 24,1979. Bhutto was hanged at Central Jail, Rawalpindi, on April 4, 1979.
