ISLAMABAD: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court questioned the validity of a 12-year-old presidential reference seeking a review of the death sentence handed down to Pakistan People Party (PPP) founder and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

During a hearing led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Shah sought assistance in addressing legal questions, noting that the court had previously dismissed an appeal against its verdict, which had attained finality.

The nine-member apex court bench, including Justices Sardar Tariq Masood, Yahya Afridi, Aminud Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Musarrat Hilali, deliberated on the reference. Former President Asif Ali Zardari initiated the reference on April 2, 2011, under Article 186 of the Constitution, seeking a review of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s trial.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan represented the federal government, while Farooq H Naek appeared on behalf of PPP chief Zardari. Advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri, who lodged the first information report against the former prime minister, also requested the Chief Justice to hear his arguments.

The court proceedings were broadcast live on the Supreme Court’s official website and YouTube channel. The decision to handle the case was made under Section 2(1) of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, by a committee comprising Chief Justice Isa, Justice Masood, and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan.

The Supreme Court appointed nine additional amici curiae, including Justice (retd) Manzoor Malik, Advocate Khawaja Haris, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani, Advocate Khalid Javed, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed, Advocate Faisal Siddiqui, Zahid Ibrahim, Yasir Qureshi, and Barrister Salman Safdar. Legal experts Makhdom Ali Khan and Ali Ahmed Kurd were already appointed as amici curiae.

The amici curiae were tasked with explaining the opinion required from the court in the presidential reference and discussing its maintainability. The hearing was adjourned until January 2024, with a commitment to a day-to-day hearing from the following month.

Addressing speculations about the bench’s constitution, Chief Justice Isa clarified that none of the current bench members were judges when the reference was filed, and they had never heard the matter before.

PPP leaders, including Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and Sherry Rehman, attended the hearing. Sherry Rehman termed it an important day for the PPP, expressing appreciation for Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s decision to hear the case. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had previously moved the Supreme Court seeking a live broadcast of the reference, hoping for justice and rectification of constitutional mistakes.