ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday observed that the PPP’s founder Zulifkar Ali Bhutto was not offered a fair trial in the murder case of Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri.
A nine-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarrat Hilali heard the presidential reference. CJP Faez Isa pronounced the majority opinion here.
The CJP said that judges are to decide cases impartially. There should be self-accountability within the judiciary as the judiciary cannot progress without admitting its past errors.
In its five pages written opinion, the top court stated that the proceedings of the trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the appeal by the SC do not meet the requirements of the fundamental right to a fair trial and
due process enshrined in Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution.