Islamabad: Additional note of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has been issued on the presidential reference related to former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan wrote in his dissenting note on the court reference related to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s murder case that he agreed to read the notes of Justice Qazi Faiz Isa and other judges, I agree to a certain extent with the note of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
He wrote in his note that the opinion given in the reference has discussed the merits of the case to some extent, the Supreme Court has only advisory jurisdiction, but on the question of fair trial I agree with paragraph 186 of the judgment, this reference It might not have come out but some events led to it.
It is important to address some of the points of the interview of Justice Naseem Hasan Shah, the pressure in the unusual political atmosphere of that time affected the process of justice, all of which were against the ideals of judicial independence, said CJP Yahya Afridi
Justice Yahya Afridi wrote that deviating from constitutional rule in political cases unduly affects judicial proceedings, in such cases Justice Durab Patel, Justice Muhammad Haleem and Justice Safdar Shah dissented boldly.
He further wrote that the dissent of these judges failed to change the outcome but was evidence of the enduring principles of impartiality, concluding that the requirements of a fair trial were not met in the trial and appeal of the Zulfikar Bhutto case.
