Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto met his fate at the gallows fourteen years ago. In response to a presidential reference filed twelve years prior, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa recently remarked, “We didn’t find that the fair trial and due process requirements were met.”
The unanimous ruling from the apex court arrives four decades too late. The reference, filed by Asif Ali Zardari over a decade ago, saw a bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
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While the Supreme Court’s verdict is commendable for its fairness, it cannot resurrect a man long gone. Bhutto, convicted of the murder of Muhammad Khan Kasuri by the Lahore High Court, had his appeal overturned by a 4-3 split verdict.
Recalling history, Dictator Zia purged all judges who refused to swear allegiance to the military takeover as legitimate. Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Esa, in his opinion on this case, emphasized, “We must … be willing to confront our past missteps and fallibilities with humility, in the spirit of self-accountability, and as a testament to our commitment to ensure that justice must be served with unwavering integrity and fidelity to the law. We cannot correct ourselves and progress in the right direction until we acknowledge our past mistakes.”
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The pivotal element of this ruling lies in the highest court’s acknowledgment of a flawed decision, one that failed to afford a fair trial. This acknowledgment brings hope that the Chief Justice will usher in much-needed reforms within the judicial system.
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The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9
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