Opinion The other Bhutto death
Zardaris decision to revisit the Z.A. Bhutto case is met with severe criticism
Soon after the present PPP-led government assumed office in 2008,its relations with the judiciary declined to an alarming degree. First,it was on the issue of the restoration of the superior judiciary,which was resisted by the government on one pretext or the other. Then,tension mounted between the executive and the judiciary on numerous other accounts,such as the appointment of judges and suo motu notices by the judiciary about rampant corruption in many state-owned establishments. It was the repealing by the apex court of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that added fuel to this raging fire between the two institutions. The NRO was promulgated by General Pervez Musharraf to withdraw corruption cases pending,inter alia,against politicians. The repealing of the NRO had exposed its beneficiaries,including Asif Zardari and his colleagues,to the risk of a possible revival of prosecution,which may result in their disqualification from holding any constitutional office.
The PPP hierarchy was also embarrassed after party workers condemned the failure and/ or refusal of the government to arrest the real culprits behind Benazir Bhuttos murder. This provoked Aslam Chaudhry,a party worker,to file a private complaint for the registration of an FIR against the 12 accused,including General Musharraf,on the charges of Benazirs murder. His final appeal seeking court orders for the registration of his FIR is pending in Pakistans supreme court.
It was under these circumstances that President Zardari thought up the very naïve idea of invoking the advisory jurisdiction of the supreme court under Article 186 of the constitution,by filing a presidential reference,with a prayer to revisit Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos murder case after about 31 years. This was arguably the most criticised case of the supreme court. The death penalty to Bhutto was awarded by five judges against four dissenting judges.
Most people are shocked by Zardaris decision and doubt his motives on several grounds. Even when Zulfikars daughter Benazir became prime minister,in 1988 and again in 1993,she decided not to resort to any judicial remedy against the judgment. Instead,in 1989,she preferred to hold a conference of global jurists and constitutional experts to examine and review the divided verdict. I had the honour of being a member of the organising committee of this conference. The unanimous decision was that the death sentence was a gross miscarriage of justice and premeditated,callous murder. In her second government in 1993,Benazir maintained that any judicial proceedings to re-review the case would be futile.
One of Zardaris motives seems to be to put the supreme court in a quandary. Damned,if the court accepts this reference: it will open a Pandoras box. If it decides to dismiss the reference,the judiciary will be further damned and maligned by leaders and workers of PPP. Already the court is facing the most condemnable,abusive and unjust criticism from many federal and provincial ministers of the PPP. Despite repeated showcause notices for contempt of court,they are showing no restraint. Pakistan needs to learn to accept court judgments and believe in the peaceful coexistence of the institutions of the state within constitutional limits.
Now,identifying,arresting and prosecuting Benazirs murderers is more important than this futile exercise of filing the Z.A. Bhutto reference after 31 years. This decision of Zardari appears to be tainted with malafide intentions and is not likely to serve any lawful objective. First of all,its objective seems to be to deviate attention of PPP workers from the Benazir murder case and to pacify and appease them by maligning the judiciary. Second,Article 186 of Pakistans constitution has no room to entertain or allow such a reference,nor,by any stretch of any constitutional provision or logic,can it be accepted by the apex court. Third,there is no precedent in the judicial history of Pakistan and most probably of the world,to re-review decisions of courts,after three-plus decades. Lastly,such a review will not resurrect Bhutto. His impeccable image,popularity and innocence is not dependent upon any court verdict.
The writer is a former minister for law and justice in Pakistan,express@expressindia.com
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