SC larger bench to hear presidential reference about hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on Dec 12

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - A larger bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan will hear the presidential reference about the hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on December 12.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa will head the nine-judge bench comprising of Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Musarat Hilali.

In 2011, former president Asif Ali Zardari had sent the presidential reference about the 'judicial murder' of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The reference was filed under Article 186 (1 and 2) of the Constitution, which empowers the president to refer any question of public importance to the apex court to seek its opinion on any matter.

In March 1979, a seven-member SC bench had upheld a Lahore High Court verdict of awarding death sentence to the former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977.