Awan out, Aitzaz in: President swaps counsel for ZAB reference
According to the statement released on Tuesday, Acting President Nayyar Hussain Bukhari appointed Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, in place of Dr Zaheer-ud-Din Babar Awan, as counsel to argue and address the Supreme Court in a reference of re-visit the trial of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The President had filed a reference in the Supreme Court under Article 186 of the constitution over the death sentence awarded to party stalwart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The previous counsel, Awan, had completed his arguments in the case and raised five questions for the apex court. When the hearing resumes next, the amicus curiae would start their arguments.
To resume hearing on the reference, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry constituted an eleven-member bench, headed by himself, and comprising Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani and Justice Amir Hani Muslim.
The court had appointed 10 amicus curiae on April 21, including Ali Ahmed Kurd, Tariq Mehmood, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, Khalid Anwar, Makhdoom Ali Khan, SM Zafar, Aitzaz Ahsan, Zahoorul Haq and Abdul Latif Afridi.
Khalid Anwar, however, expressed his inability to assist the court and Qazi Muhammad Ashraf was appointed in his place.
The court had put off the hearing of the case after some judges on the bench had retired in June last year. The hearing resumed in December but after Awan’s license suspension following a contempt of court case, the case was adjourned for an indefinite period.
At some point, the CJ had also remarked that the apex court might refer the case to a trial court.
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The last line tells it all. "At some point, the CJ had also remarked that the apex court might refer the case to a trial court." While every tiny, manufactured and political case against PPP starts and ends in PCO SC, this case is going to be dumped on a lower court according to this news. How can a lower trial court review the verdict of the highest court in the land? Like BB and Taseer murder cases this case would not see much time of the SC. A death appeal of an elected PM is not important but unsigned and undated Memo is.