ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday questioned whether the nation will have to wait for a half-century to get the fundamental and constitutional rights to a fair trial for its jailed leader Imran Khan after the Supreme Court (SC) took 50 years to declare that late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get a chance to a fair trial.

PTI spokesman Raoof Hasan while reacting to the apex court’s opinion on the long-pending presidential reference regarding the trial, sentence, and execution of Bhutto, lamented that the apex court took 50 years to reach the conclusion that the requirements of a fair trial and due process were not fulfilled under the judgment against the PPP founder.

He asked that as the court took around 50 years in the case of Bhutto, now the nation would have to wait for 50 years to get the fundamental and constitutional rights to a fair trial for the PTI founder, who he claimed was illegally imprisoned in fake, frivolous, and politically-motivated cases.

He emphasised that the judicial opinion in the presidential reference in the case of Bhutto could only be meaningful and impactful if the apex court acted with full force to stop the widespread lawlessness and take instant practical steps for ensuring the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law in the country.

He made it clear that it was a universal principle that “Justice delayed is justice denied” adding that “delay in justice is also a murder of justice”.

He demanded that thousands of innocent workers and PTI leaders including Imran Khan and his wife should be immediately released from unjust and unlawful imprisonment and all the false, bogus, and fabricated cases framed against them should be decided through fair trials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024