Pakistan High Court: Ex-Prime Minister Was Denied Fair Trial

Facts

• The Pakistani Supreme Court has ruled that the court case against former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979, which led to his conviction and subsequent hanging, was not a fair trial.¹
• The trial of Bhutto — who founded the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which is now run by his grandson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — was brought against him by the then-military government run by General Zia-ul-Haq.²
• Two years before he was hanged, Bhutto was ousted from office by Zia-ul-Haq, who remained in office until he died in a plane crash in 1988.³
• The Supreme Court ruled that the trial, which found Bhutto guilty of orchestrating a political assassination, did not meet the 'due process requirements.' This comes after the court was first asked to review the case in 2011 by then-Pres. Asif Ali Zardari.¹
• The Court cited rights under Articles Four and Five of the Constitution, adding that, although Article 10 — which guarantees the right to a fair trial — wasn't law at the time, Bhutto's rights were still violated.⁴
• Asif Zardari was the husband of Bhutto's daughter, Benazir Bhutto, a two-time Prime Minister who was assassinated during a political rally in 2007.³

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, ³PressTV and ⁴Dunya News.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Open The Magazine. While the life of Bhutto was tragic, he was likely not the martyr his ardent supporters have made him out to be. While the military was certainly what brought him down, he was once a member of the military-run political class due to his hunger for power. He also played a role in the destruction of Bangladesh and the deaths of 1M Bengalis — proof that he was not a saint with only good intentions.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by DAWN. The fact that it took Pakistan's justice system 44 years to admit its wrongdoing should be a tell-all. Bhutto's hanging was nothing other than a political assassination called for by the then-president and sanctioned by the corrupt courts. This long overdue apology also means little given that the same regime is still targeting civilians and politicians who go against its orthodoxy, especially the currently imprisoned Imran Khan.

Predictions