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Murtaza Bhutto murder case: SHC to hear Zardari’s plea today

By Maqbool Ahmed

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court will hear on Friday (today) a criminal revision application of Asif Zardari, husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, against the cancellation of his bail in the Murtaza Bhutto murder case and his non-bailable warrants of arrest issued by the trial court.

On December 19, district and sessions Judge Zafar Khan Sherwani, while rejecting Zardari’s application seeking exemption for a personal court appearance, had recalled the bail order of November 24, 1998 and issued notices to the surety.

In the criminal revision application, filed under section 245-A of the code of criminal procedure (CrPC), Barrister Azizullah K Sheikh submitted that when Zardari was released after having been granted bail in the BMW reference, he had moved the provincial home department to provide him security. Barrister Sheikh submitted that while disposing of his application, the home department had advised Zardari to be careful about his movement. This, Barrister Sheikh submitted, was tantamount an admission by the home department of a threat to Zardari’s life.

He submitted that Zardari filed an application for exemption from personal appearance and in the meantime left for Dubai to met his wife and children. In Dubai, he suffered from heat problems and was rushed to the US where he underwent heart surgery. Barrister Sheikh said in the application that incidents of firing on under trial prisoners and even murder in the premises of city courts indicated that the security situation there was not satisfactory. In such a situation, the court should have granted Zardari exemption from a personal appearance. He said when he (Zardari’s counsel) was there to represent him and also produce certificates indicating that Zardari was not well enough to embark upon a long journey, the trial court had no reason to insist on the presence of the defendant in person.

The application has been fixed for hearing before Justice Perwez Zai on Friday (today). Barrister Sheikh on Thursday also filed a criminal revision against the rejection of the acquittal application of Zardari in the Murtaza Bhutto case.

On November 27, district and sessions judge Zafar Khan Sherwani had rejected Zardari’s acquittal application, citing an observation of the high court.

Earlier, on September 19, 1998, district and sessions judge Yasmeen Abbesy (now a judge of the Sindh High Court) had also rejected Zardari’s acquittal plea, declaring it premature and observing that even the evidence of the medico legal officer (MLO), who performed the autopsy of the deceased Murtaza Bhutto, had not been recorded.

After the evidence of the MLO was recorded by the trial court, Zardari filed an application for the quashment of the proceedings against him in the Sindh High Court, submitting that the MLO had deposed nothing against him and even testified that Murtaza was not medically in a position to speak after receiving a bullet injury in his jaws. The prosecution claimed that in a dying statement, Murtaza had said: “Asif and Abdullah Shah got us killed.”

The high court, however, disposed of the quashment application, observing that at this stage of the trial, the trial court would consider Zardari’s acquittal application.

About the high court’s observations that there were entries on September 19, 1996 – a day before Murtaza was killed – at Chief Minister House showing that Asif Zardari had visited, Barrister Sheikh submitted in the criminal revision that the entries could have been made after the change of the PPP government in 1996.

The criminal revision against the rejection of the acquittal application on November 27, 2005, would be heard by the SHC after the Eidul Adha vacations.

Besides Asif Zardari, Masood Sharif, former director of the Intelligence Bureau, Darakhshan (Clifton) ASP Rai Tahir, city ASP Shahid Hayat, former SHO Shabbir Qaimkhani, ex-SHO Agha Jameel are among the police officers standing trial in the Murtaza murder case. Former inspector Zeeshan Kazmi, a co-accused, was shot dead a few months ago. The only police official injured in the shoot-out, SHO Haq Nawaz Sial of Clifton, was said to have sustained ‘self-inflicted’ injuries. He died a few days after the incident in mysterious circumstances and was alleged to have committed suicide.

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