A special meeting of the Federal Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday approved questions of law in the Presidential reference seeking review of the death sentence to former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
The Minister for Information Firdous Ashiq Awan told media after the Cabinet meeting that the government team of legal experts in line with the directive of the Supreme Court has identified legal gaps and lacunas in the trial of former prime minister. The government would submit questions of law to the apex court on Wednesday and expected that Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would be compensated for all the injustice done to it in the past, the minister said.
The special cabinet meeting was held to examine the questions of law in the Reference filed in the Supreme Court under the Article 186 of the Constitution. Government's counsel in Reference, Babar Awan, briefed the Cabinet about the questions. In reply to a query about the questions of law to be raised in the Reference, she said that these could not be disclosed to the media before submission to the court. However, the minister indicated that gaps, violation of fundamental rights, unfair treatment to the late prime minister during the trial would be part of these questions of law.
Babar Awan, was specially invited to brief the Cabinet on legal and constitutional aspects of the Reference as well as the proceedings of the Supreme Court. Dr Babar Awan informed the Cabinet that proceedings of the Reference filed by the President in the Supreme Court were satisfactory. He presented before the Cabinet the questions of law to be presented before the Supreme Court.
The objective of the reference Dr Babar Awan said, was that the error of judgement be corrected for statutes and legal history because it was a judicial murder of the Chairman of the premier political party and founder of the Constitution of Pakistan. After detailed discussion, the Cabinet unanimously approved questions of law to be presented before the Supreme Court. Dr Babar Awan also highlighted the international significance and history of such high profile cases before the Cabinet.
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