"I am the aggrieved, necessary and proper party in the presidential reference being filed by the PPP government in the Supreme Court to revisit the death sentence awarded to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in murder case of Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan in 1979," Ahmad Raza Kasuri told Business Recorder on Friday.
Commenting on government's decision to file a reference in the Supreme Court against execution of late Bhutto Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan's son, Ahmad Raza Kasuri said: "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was awarded death sentence on my FIR filed in March 1974 when my family and myself were ambushed in Lahore leaving my father dead. Kasuri alleged that he was the actual target accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind.
Kasuri said that a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court had heard Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's appeal against the death sentence given by the Lahore High Court. The High Court judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court by a majority vote of 4 to 3. Bhutto had exercised his right of review under Article 188 of the Constitution but the petition was unanimously rejected by the 7-member Supreme Court Bench, he added.
Kasuri who is a well known senior advocate of the Supreme Court argued that the government cannot file a reference in the Supreme Court under Article 186 to revisit a murder case as Article 186 of the Constitution states: (1) "If, at any time, the President considers that it is desirable to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court on any question of law, which he considers of public importance, he may refer the question to the Supreme Court for consideration."
Clause 2 of the same Article states: "The Supreme Court shall consider a question so referred and report its opinion on the question to the President." Kasuri was of the view that under Article 186, the President can file a reference in the apex court when there is a dispute "between two provinces, or amongst provinces or between a provincial government and the Federal government, therefore, the President cannot ask the Supreme Court to review a murder case," he added.
Ahmad Raza Kasuri said that he would question the legality and admissibility of the reference under Article 186 in the Supreme Court as he was the aggrieved, proper and necessary party in the case. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had the right to file a review petition against his sentence, which he exercised under Article 188 of the Constitution in 1979, he added.