Islamabad: A Larger Bench of the Supreme Court would hear the presidential reference seeking court opinion about reopening Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Ifitikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Sair Ali resumed the hearing on Thursday.
Federation’s lawyer Babar Awan presented five questions of law which he was asked by the court, during last hearing, so that the SC could opined on the reference.
Awan read out the questions; wasn’t Bhutto’s trial violation of basic rights, was the trial transparent while prejudice of the judges proven and is it Islamic to execute on the basis of evidence of approver, was the punishment right.
The supreme court observed that a larger bench of the apex court would hear the case form May 2. The court also appointed 10 amicus curiae to assist the court during the hearing that included Barrister Aitazaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, SM Zafar, Fakhruddin G Ibraheem, Latif Afridi, Zahurul Haq, Abdul Hafeez Peerzada , Khalid Anwar,Makhdoom Ali Khan and Tariq Mehmood.
Hearing of the case was put off till May 2.
Earlier on Wednesday, the federal cabinet gave approval to the five questions of law.
During the previous hearing the CJ observed that no question of law had been raised in the reference and court could not form a larger bench unless the legal flaws in the reference are addressed.
President Asif Ali Zardari had sent a reference to the Supreme Court to reopen case of former prime minister and the PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was awarded death sentence and was hanged on April 4, 1979.His punishment is widely termed as judicial murder.
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