News
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Babar Awan resigns to plead ZAB case in SC
SC prepares to revisit history
* Court accepts presidential reference for regular hearing
* CJP says larger bench will be constituted to hear case and 9 to 10 amicus curiae will be engaged from Centre and provinces
* Says Bhutto was man of principles, was held in high esteem not only in country but also abroad
* Hearing to resume today
By Hasnaat Malik
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted for regular hearing a reference filed by President Asif Ali Zardari under Article 186 of the constitution to revisit the murder trial of the country’s first democratically elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
As a three-judge apex court bench started preliminary hearing of the reference on Wednesday, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that a larger bench would be constituted and 10 amicus curiae would be engaged from the Centre and provinces (to revisit the history). “If there would be a need, the case would be heard day and night,” Justice Chaudhry added.
At the outset of the proceedings, the CJP said to Dr Babar Awan, who was present in the courtroom, to seek its permission for representing the federation in the case, that the apex court knew the importance of the reference filed to invoke its advisory jurisdiction.
“The reference is filed by no less than the president of Pakistan. We understand its importance. There should be no such thing that people might say that the court has compromised. The reference is about a personality held in high esteem and seen globally with great honour,” remarked Justice Chaudhry.
During the hearing, the CJP also referred to a book “If I am assassinated” authored by Bhutto and said that it was worth reading, especially its chapter “Death cell and history”.
“I am not made of wood that I will easily burn,” he quoted a line from the book and termed Bhutto a man of principle.
The CJP told Babar that it would be a great honour for him (Babar) to appear in the case, but he advised him to look into the rules regarding permission to a counsel and to a minister to address the court. He told him let the past history not be repeated when during the regimes of military dictators, ministers used to plead before courts as there was no constitutional dispensation present in the country.
“If you like to appear in the reference, then first resign and get your licence renewed by the Pakistan Bar Council,” the CJP told Babar.
“My resignation is before you,” replied Babar while placing a document before the bench. He told the CJP that he had discussed the issue with the prime minister who, he said, had accorded his concurrence. He said everything would be put in the right direction and he would appear as a counsel in the case.
“You people are writing history. People would say that Dr Babar has prevailed over the court and rewritten the history,” said the CJP as he asked him to resign before the relevant authority, which Babar did by tendering his resignation to the president later in the day.
“It is not Babar Awan who will speak here, but it will be ZAB who will speak from his gallows. Whole history will stand before you. The time limitation is not an impediment,” Babar said, adding that he would argue the case not with sentiments but with facts.
Recalling that Bhutto had never turned his back on the judiciary, Babar said, “We (PPP) would follow his tradition.” Justice Chaudhry asked him “to get your resignation accepted and tomorrow (Thursday) you would be given a chance to argue before the court”.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the resignation of the federal minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs was accepted by the president in terms of Article 92(3) of the constitution. The court would resume hearing of the presidential reference today at 11:30am. Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani were the other members of the bench.
Several PPP leaders, including Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, Nayyar Bukhari, Raja Parvez Ashraf and others, were present in the courtroom.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk