KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution to declare former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as a “National Democratic Hero”, following the Supreme Court’s landmark opinion on the late prime minister’s trial. , punishment and execution.
The provincial assembly in today’s session unanimously welcomed the Supreme Court’s historic opinion in a presidential petition filed by former President Asif Ali Zardari seeking a review of the death sentence of Pakistan’s first elected female prime minister — ZA Bhutto.
During today’s session, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah moved a resolution calling the Supreme Court’s opinion a “significant” step by acknowledging that “justice and a fair trial were not given to Bhutto – who was sentenced to death 45 years ago.” — in accordance with the Constitution.
“This judgment highlights the importance of upholding the principles of justice and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their status, are entitled to a fair trial under the Constitution. It serves as a reminder of the need to address past injustices and uphold the rule of law in the pursuit of justice and accountability,” it said.
The resolution also supported “the victims of Begum Nusrat Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of justice against the cold-blooded judicial killing of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto”.
It also demands that the Sindh government approach the Center and declare ZA Bhutto as a “National Democratic Hero” and besides “officially declare Bhutto as a Shaheed (martyr).
Subsequently, she also demanded that the provincial government should honor the political workers and activists of “Nishan-e-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto” for sacrificing their lives for democracy.
Speaking on the floor of the assembly, CM Shah emphasized the necessary changes in the relevant laws to prevent such “atrocity” in future after the apex court also admitted the “mistakes” in the Bhutto case that led to his death sentence.
He reiterated the demand to declare the late PPP founder a national democratic hero as per the resolution he submitted.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Muhammad Farooq supported the resolution and stressed that “democratic figures should be convicted on the basis of concrete evidence and not by force”.
Referring to the jail term of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Farooq pointed out that another ex-prime minister was present behind bars, which also needs to be taken into account. He also emphasized the political stakeholders to block the passage of undemocratic steps unitedly in the future.
PTI-backed Independent MPA Shabbir Qureshi expressed his view that ZA Bhutto had put the nation on notice and that his wrongful death sentence was proof of what happened to an individual who fought for the nation.
Qureshi added that every individual considers ZA Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto as “principal politicians”. However, the PA speaker shut down the PTI MPA’s microphone during his speech.
Later, the resolution moved by CM Shah was unanimously approved by the assembly.
A day earlier, a nine-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa issued its reserved opinion on the trial, sentence and execution of the late Prime Minister Bhutto, saying she was not given a chance for a “fair trial”.
The opinion was issued on a 2011 presidential reference seeking a review of the conviction and execution of former Prime Minister Bhutto.
The Supreme Court’s decision earned praise from politicians and lawyers who called it a “positive and historic development”.
