ZAB reference case: SC to begin reference hearing from May 2
Babar Awan submits 5 legal questions before the court. Ten senior lawyers appointed by the Supreme Court.
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday announced that the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto reference case hearing will begin on May 2, and appointed ten lawyers to assist the court.
The hearing resumed with Babar Awan submitting five legal questions before the court.
He asked the court if the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the Supreme Court verdict of the trial had met the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of Pakistan. Other questions included asking how the trial could be termed fair when judicial prejudice had been proved. Awan also asked if the decision in the case met the requirements of Islamic laws as under Shariah and Quran, and also if the reference would require new evidence or not.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan appointed ten senior lawyers to assist the court.
The lawyers include Latif Afridi, Khalid Ahmed, Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, Makhdoom Ali Khan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, SM Zaffar, Tariq Mehmood, Hafeez Pirzada and Barrister Zahoorul Haq.
The court has asked the LHC to provide the complete record of the case.
President Asif Ali Zardari had sent a reference seeking the retrial of the ZA Bhutto case, which culminated in a long-debated guilty verdict over three decades ago – ultimately resulting in the hanging of the country’s first elected prime minister in 1979. The presidential reference contended that the late party chairman was not given justice and that the courts today should correct this.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday announced that the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto reference case hearing will begin on May 2, and appointed ten lawyers to assist the court.
The hearing resumed with Babar Awan submitting five legal questions before the court.
He asked the court if the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the Supreme Court verdict of the trial had met the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of Pakistan. Other questions included asking how the trial could be termed fair when judicial prejudice had been proved. Awan also asked if the decision in the case met the requirements of Islamic laws as under Shariah and Quran, and also if the reference would require new evidence or not.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan appointed ten senior lawyers to assist the court.
The lawyers include Latif Afridi, Khalid Ahmed, Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, Makhdoom Ali Khan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, SM Zaffar, Tariq Mehmood, Hafeez Pirzada and Barrister Zahoorul Haq.
The court has asked the LHC to provide the complete record of the case.
President Asif Ali Zardari had sent a reference seeking the retrial of the ZA Bhutto case, which culminated in a long-debated guilty verdict over three decades ago – ultimately resulting in the hanging of the country’s first elected prime minister in 1979. The presidential reference contended that the late party chairman was not given justice and that the courts today should correct this.