Supreme Court of Pakistan Forms Committee for Live Telecast of Bhutto Case

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has established a three-member committee tasked with deciding on the live telecast of the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto reference.

The reference, filed by former president Asif Ali Zardari in 2011, seeks to revisit the 1979 death sentence of the former prime minister. The committee is set to present its findings on the feasibility of live broadcasting the proceedings to the Chief Justice of Pakistan by December 11.

The decision to form this committee comes ahead of the Supreme Court’s review of a long-standing presidential reference regarding Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, scheduled for December 12.

The nine-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, will delve into the controversial death sentence awarded to Bhutto, Pakistan’s first elected prime minister, during General Ziaul Haq’s military regime. Bhutto faced charges for the murder of political rival Nawab Mohammed Ahmed Qasuri, leading to his execution in 1979 despite international pleas for clemency.

Read: Supreme Court to Review 1979 Death Sentence of Ex-Prime Minister Bhutto

The Pakistan Peoples Party has long advocated for this execution to be recognized as ‘judicial murder.’

The committee’s decision on live telecasting the proceedings will be significant, as it pertains to a case that has deeply impacted Pakistani political history and continues to evoke strong sentiments. The outcome could bring unprecedented transparency to a case that has been debated and controversial for decades.