Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has expressed disappointment over the rejection of review petitions in fake bank accounts case and called for an early determination of the limits of suo motu powers of the Supreme Court. Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) Farhatullah Babar said that the points raised in the review petitions, particularly with regard to the limitations on exercise of suo motu powers, are of fundamental importance and call for a parliamentary debate on the determination of limits of these powers.
"The PPP, therefore, will work towards a parliamentary debate on Article 184 (3) of the Constitution with a view to making legislation for a determination of the powers under suo motu jurisdiction," he said.
He also recalled the interview of Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Munich the other day underlining that he had not been given an opportunity to present his point of view in a court of law in the said case which, he said, was a negation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to fair trial under Article 10-A of the Constitution.
"Suo motu notice was taken by the Supreme Court on the ground of slackness in investigations in the case," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said that Bilawal in his petition had questioned whether slackness in the progress of a case constituted a valid ground for use of suo motu powers. An FIR has been registered, investigations are continuing, preliminary report has been finalised and the case is proceeding in banking court, he said. That is why the review petition also urged the Supreme Court to constitute a larger bench to address the constitutional issue of limits of suo motu powers, Farhatullah Babar said.
He said that Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal against which there is no appeal. When it decides a case by taking a suo motu notice, the aggrieved is left with no forum to appeal the verdict, he said.
He said, "Absence of a forum for appeal is against the basic principle of justice and therefore it is all more necessary to revisit the procedure for taking up cases under suo motu powers,"
The PPP, however, has always respected court verdicts even if it disagreed with them, he said.
Farhatullah Babar while talking to Business Recorder said that his party would work for preparing a draft of a bill to make legislation for a determination of the powers under suo motu jurisdiction. He said, "We will raise this issue in the coming sessions of the Parliament for discussion."
Meanwhile, Secretary Information Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Dr Nafisa Shah expressing surprise and concern over Supreme Court's verdict in review petitions said that perception in the public is getting strength that Bhuttos never got justice in this country.
In a statement, Dr Nafisa Shah said that the reference with regard to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, which was filed by the former President Asif Ali Zardari, is still awaiting hearing.
She said that a former chief justice, who was a member of the Supreme Court bench which sentenced Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had admitted that the death sentence against Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was wrong.
She recalled that in SGS Cotecna case, an audio tape had exposed the injustices done to PPP leadership.
She said that JIT report is nothing but a pack of lies. Its main characters are Shahzad Akbar and DG FIA Bashir Memon, while NAB has also become a tool of government for victimising political opponents.
He said that the perception is getting strength that Rawalpindi is being made a killing field for the PPP leadership once again. "Why was the case transferred to Rawalpindi when the investigations took place in Sindh and trial was continued in Sindh?" she asked.
She said that all the characters against PPP will be exposed the day justice is done in Asghar Khan case. Whenever this mindset against Bhuttos fails to compete with PPP politically, it makes false and fictitious cases against PPP leadership, she claimed.
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