Pakistan minister quits to plead Bhutto retrial

Pakistan's Law minister Babar Awan resigned on Wednesday to appear as the government's counsel in a case in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the death sentence awarded to former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. President Asif Ali Zardari, who also heads the ruling Pakistan People's Party, recently asked the apex court to review the death sentence awarded to Bhutto in 1979.

The PPP has described hanging of Bhutto, the founder of the party, as a "judicial murder". Awan, a close aide of Zardari, announced that he had resigned as a minister while appearing before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

He presented a copy of his resignation to the bench, which is hearing of "reference" or proposal for a review of Bhutto's case. The bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry adjourned the matter until Thursday, so that Awan could get his resignation accepted by the prime minister and renew his lawyer's licence with the Pakistan Bar Council.

Chaudhry asked Awan to come prepared for the detailed hearing and said everyone in Pakistan and abroad knew the importance of the President's move to seek the Supreme Court's advice on re-opening the case of Bhutto. "The reference is filed no less than the President of Pakistan. We understand its importance. There should be no such things that people might say that the court has compromised.

"The reference is about a personality seen globally with great honour," Chaudhry said. The bench also asked for the appointment of 10 more lawyers to help in the case, which has been described by a section of the media as the "re-trial of the century".

Around 50 PPP parliamentarians were present in court during Wednesday's hearing. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Awan said he did not believe in politics of revenge though there is a need to purge the country of injustice.     He said the PPP has been struggling for 32 years to bring those involved in Bhutto's case to justice.

Since it came to power in the 2008 general election, the PPP has repeatedly said it will seek a review of Bhutto's case.  Zardari's move to refer the matter to the apex court marked the culmination of a long debate on the sentencing of Bhutto over three decades ago.

The government's legal team is likely to refer to the statement of retired judge Nasim Hassan Shah, who reportedly confessed that there was immense pressure on the judges who awarded the death penalty to Bhutto during the regime of late military ruler Zia-ul-Haq.