Babar for suo motu action in Benazir Bhutto conviction in absentia

Legal advisor to the PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari, Babar Awan has appealed the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan to take suo motu action to waive imprisonment granted to Benazir Bhutto in absentia. Addressing a press conference here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) he said: "In Sherpao, Kundi, and Fazal cases the apex court has ruled that the imprisonment awarded in absentia has no status".
He said the Supreme Court keeping in view its ruling in those cases should take suo motu action in Benazir case so that the PPP chairperson should return to the country.
Babar Awan said that Asif Ali Zardari was not result of any deal with the government and added that his release on bail was possible after a long nerve breaking legal struggle.
"According to the jail manual Zardari has actually spent more than 25-years as a convict of life imprisonment spent six years and seven months behind the bar while Zardari remained in jails for more than eight years," he said.
"Our party believes in dialogue and not deals and we will not compromise on our stand on the issue of a uniformed president and Legal Framework Order," he said, adding the PPP considered any ultra constitutional step taken by any person a threat to the country and would oppose all such steps.
Babar said the party central executive committee had decided that it had completed the task of releasing Zardari and our next target was to struggle for the return of Benazir. "We have set December for the return of Benazir to the country and to achieve this objective we will contact the masses and courts," he said, adding only a popular leadership and not opportunists could solve problems of the people.
Babar said four governments had been changed during the last five years but all those failed to solve Wana and Balochistan problems and establish cordial relations Afghanistan.
"Inflation has been increased, money went out of the country and not a single sick industrial unit was revived during the last five years," he added.
Babar said the PPP was against dictatorship and would not allow an individual to decide about construction of a dam and kill own people in Wana and other places.
He said that 2005 was the year of elections, revival of genuine democracy and return of Benazir.
He ruled out that the PPP patriots would be allowed to join the PPP and said that those people had committed political suicide.