News
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
ZAB reference hearing on 13th
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has fixed the hearing of a presidential reference for revisiting the death sentence of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for April 13.
The reference was filed in the Supreme Court by the federation on Saturday under its advisory jurisdiction to seek an opinion on revisiting the ZAB case. The reference had been filed under Article 186 of the constitution, which empowers the president to refer any question of public importance to the apex court to seek its opinion on any matter.
The court, under constitutional provisions, has the authority to consider the question so referred to it by the president and then report its opinion on the question to him/her. A seven-judge SC bench had upheld by four a Lahore High Court verdict of awarding death sentence to Bhutto in March 1979 during the regime of the then army chief Ziaul Haq, who had overthrown the PPP government in July 1977.
“We have requested the court to re-examine the Bhutto case, because the judgement handed down was controversial. The benefit of doubt which should have gone to the advantage of the accused during the trial in criminal cases went in favour of the prosecution,” Advocate Arif Chaudhry said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk