ISLAMABAD – Amidst unusual emotional scenes, the Supreme Court accepted for regular hearing on Wednesday a presidential reference seeking to revisit the death sentence of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing the reference, filed under Article 186 of the constitution, seeking the reopening of the murder trial of the first democratically elected prime minister of the country.
At the preliminary hearing, the chief justice said everyone in the country and abroad knew the importance and seriousness of the presidential reference. To set a new tradition, government’s counsel Babar Awan placed before the court a document containing his resignation as law minister so he could represent the government in the reference.
The chief justice appreciated the step and said, “You people are writing history … people will say that Dr Awan prevailed over the court and rewrote history.” Awan responded that there were people who had rendered greater sacrifices for the late Bhutto. He said the ministry had no importance for him as it was a temporary thing. He said even if he were prime minister, he would have preferred to resign in order to appear in this case.
The courtroom was packed with PPP leaders, lawyers, reporters and observers. The court also noted that in the past when there was no constitutional dispensation in the country, ministers used to appear in court, but now there was political dispensation and the institutions were working. The chief justice said that owing to the serious nature of the case, the court would form a larger bench and would prefer hearing the reference over other cases and would be appointing at least ten amicus curiae to assist it in the issue.
He said the case could be heard on day-to-day basis. He said the court also knew the importance of the reference filed to invoke the court’s advisory jurisdiction. He said the reference was filed by no less than the president of Pakistan. “We understand its importance and there should be nothing that the people might say the court compromised on,” said the chief justice. He said further that the reference was about a personality globally acknowledged with great honour.
The chief justice said a book written by the late Bhutto in prison called “If I Am Assassinated” was worth reading, especially the chapter titled “Death Cell and History”. “I am not made of wood that I will easily burn,” the chief justice quoted a line from the book, and said Bhutto was a man of principles. Chaudhry said he was also getting emotional while recalling history.
“History will stand before you. The time limitation is not an impediment,” Awan said. He said Bhutto himself had appeared in the SC and recited a Seraiki verse that said, “A tortured soul groans under suffering.” The court adjourned the hearing till today (Thursday) at 11:30am, allowing Awan time for his resignation to be accepted and the renewal of his practicing license by the Pakistan Bar Council.
Resignation accepted
ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari accepted the resignation of Dr Babar Awan from the office of federal law minister on Wednesday. A Cabinet Division notification issued here stated that under Article 92(3) of the constitution, the president, on the advice of the prime minister, had accepted Awan’s resignation as law minister with immediate effect. Tahir Niaz
