THERE have been many crises in Pakistan’s torturous history that remain unresolved, lacking closure mainly because the nation — particularly its institutions — failed to acknowledge the ‘whole truth’ of these events. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s 1977 removal in a military coup, and his subsequent hanging in 1979, are part of this list.

Both were epochal events that changed the trajectory of Pakistan’s history; their after-effects still haunt the system. In this regard, the Supreme Court’s observations on Wednesday, regarding Bhutto’s trial, are an important milestone in the nation’s legal and political history.

The apex court was hearing a reference filed by Asif Ali Zardari in 2011, when he was president, seeking the court’s opinion on Bhutto’s death sentence. The PPP founder had been convicted by a Lahore High Court bench of the 1974 murder of Mohammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri; the SC, in a split 4-3 decision, had upheld the LHC verdict, paving the way for the execution of Pakistan’s first popularly elected prime minister.

While noting that the law does not provide a mechanism to set aside the original judgement, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa noted in the short order that the LHC trial and the SC appeal in Bhutto’s case did “not meet the requirements of the fundamental right to a fair trial and due process”. The SC’s observations have validated what legal experts have been saying for decades: that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s conviction was a travesty of justice — a ‘judicial murder’ as his party has put it.

It can be asked why an over four-decade-old case was dusted up when blatant injustice continues to be meted out today. Perhaps revisiting the Bhutto case is relevant because of these very injustices. It shows that even popularly elected prime ministers can be humiliated, incarcerated and even sent to the gallows when the state desires it, and that the legal system can be manipulated to suit the whims of powerful forces.

Similar criticism of the judiciary has followed Imran Khan’s iddat case, as well as Nawaz Sharif’s run-ins with accountability courts in years past. That is why, as the chief justice observed in the short order, the judiciary should, “confront our past missteps and fallibilities with humility, in the spirit of self-accountability”.

This need for internal introspection is required in all institutions: the judiciary, the establishment, as well as the political class. The SC’s observations on the Bhutto trial are a confirmation of the fact that in the past, the pillars of state — guided by the doctrine of necessity — have participated in undermining the constitutional order they had sworn to protect.

Though the grave injustice done to Bhutto cannot be reversed, state institutions can pledge to not repeat the wrongs committed during this sordid chapter of Pakistan’s history.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2024