Supreme Court’s larger bench to hear petition on Benazir Bhutto’s murder case

In what appeared to be a response to President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech on December 27, 2011, in which he criticized the judiciary, the Supreme Court Tuesday said it will form a larger bench to hear the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

The apex court also issued notices to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, former law minister, Dr. Babar Awan, PML-Q leader, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahia, former president Pervez Musharraf and eight others in petition, seeking their replies into the matter.

A three-judge bench with Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the chair asked Attorney General (AG) Maulvi Anwalul Haq to take directives from the government in this regard.

Furthermore, the Chief Justice also ordered the special judge of an anti-terrorism court to submit photocopies of the FIR, reports and records and a synopsis of the development in the case in the next hearing.

The apex court was of the opinion that people wanted to know the reality behind Bhutto’s assassination, terming the case of a serious nature. The bench stated that the SC was concerned because President Asif Ali Zardari spoke earlier that the judiciary was not taking the matter sincerely.

The CJ remarked, “Tell us what is happening in the case as president during his Garhi Khuda Bux speech asked us what happened to BB case.” He further said the prime minister and president used to say the court didn’t take up matter.

He was of the opinion that Benazir Bhutto was not only a chairperson of a political party instead she was a two-time prime minister of the country. “Why government is not giving priority to such a serious case” he observed.

He said that the court would have taken a suo motu action in the case, but it didn’t, because a petition was filed to the court.

Iftikhar Chaudhry, during the hearing, asked the attorney general if he was satisfied with the development of the probe. On which, the AG said that there was no much progress in the case so far, and the investigations were being accomplished.

The AG defined three different investigations including the Scotaland Yard, a United Nations Commission and a joint investigation team.

To which, the CJ stated that the UN commission’s report was civil in nature, not criminal. He maintained that the government will have to carry out an independent investigation into the matter.

Earlier, former protocol officer of Benazir Bhutto, Advocate Chaudhry Aslam filed a petition to the court, asking it that the first FIR submitted in the case did not mention the names of the “real culprits”. The hearing was put off for two weeks.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jan 31 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.