The Supreme Court of Pakistan Wednesday announced the verdict on the presidential reference about judicial murder of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The CJP Qazi Faez Isa said: “The Constitution and the law do not provide such a mechanism that the Bhutto case judgment should now be annulled.”

“Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case revision petition was dismissed and the decision is final,” the apex court said.

“The trial in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the appeal proceedings in the Supreme Court were not in accordance with fundamental rights. Now SC cannot overrule the decision by revisiting the evidence in the advisory jurisdiction,” Supreme Court added.

In a detailed opinion, the Supreme Court will point out major flaws and legal defects in the trial.

The SC said: “Fundamental right to fair trial not followed in Bhutto trial."

Answering a question whether the decision a judicial precedent or not, the SC answered the legal principle in the question was not clear.

“Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair trial, this is our opinion. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's trial was not according to the constitution and law,” Supreme Court

The Constitution and the law do not provide such a mechanism that the decision of the Bhutto case should be annulled now.

The apex court did not give any opinion on the question of status of punishment in the Islamic context. CJP Qazi Faez Isa said it will not be appropriate to comment on the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case in the Islamic context.

The apex court gave its opinion on five question asked in the presidential reference including:

Whether the murder trial was conducted in accordance with the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution? The
Can the Supreme Court's execution decision be a judicial precedent?
Was Zulfiqar Bhutto's death sentence a fair decision and not biased?
Is Zulfiqar Bhutto's death sentence correct in the light of Quranic orders?
Was the evidence against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto sufficient to declare him convict?

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was present in the court when the opinion on the Presidential reference was announced.

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Bilawal terms the verdict 'historic'

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari alongside his lawyer Farooq H. Naek and Raza Rabbani called the court’s views historic, adding that they were awaiting the detailed opinion.

He hoped: “44 years later, the SC’s opinion would allow Pakistan to progress, and that the system would finally be put on the right path.”

“The stain of this decision made it difficult for the people of Pakistan to have faith in the court, and get justice from this court, especially if someone like the prime minister did not get justice,” Bilawal said.

In a post on X, Bilawal noted that the SC’s opinion came “44 years after judicial murder and more than 12 years after [the] presidential reference was filed”.

“The pursuit of justice was a labour of love by President Asif Ali Zardari in the name of his wife Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Our family waited 3 generations to hear these words.”

PM congratulates PPP

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former President Asif Ali Zardari, PPP leadership and workers on the Supreme Court's opinion that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was denied fair trial.

In a message, he said though reversal of a mistake committed in the past is not possible but its confession has set a new tradition and history.

The Prime Minister said it is a positive development in the right direction. He said the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference will help understand history in a true context at the national level.

He said national unity and the process of development can be expedited by correcting mistakes of the past and ending bitterness.

Past proceedings

Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) Monday concluded the proceedings of the presidential reference against the judicial murder of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and reserved opinion on the reference.

“Not today, but some other day we may sit down to and deliver the verdict,” Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa said.

A nine-member bench of SC conducted the hearing of presidential reference of judicial murder of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The reference was broadcasted on the Supreme Court of Pakistan YouTube channel.

Ahmed Raza Kasuri has completed the arguments, the brief arguments of the Additional Attorney General have also been completed.

Additional Attorney General said that the investigation in the Bhutto case was closed by order of the magistrate.

Additional AG said: “Re-investigation conducted without taking any fresh judicial order. The entire trial was based on an investigation that was not legal. Apparently there was government intervention at that time.”

Justice Jamal Mandukhel inquired now what measures the government was taking to prevent such interference, on which, additional AG replied: “Of course, we have been advocates for the independence of the judiciary.”

Ahmed Raza Kasuri giving his argument said: “A person named Ifthikhar Ahmed aka Ifthikhar fitna,” to which CJ Isa replied and inquired, “If something happens to Mr Ifthikhar, then you will be responsible.”

The bench included Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarrat Hilali.