RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Tuesday rejected Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s application against fresh trial of the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman had on September 17 reserved his judgment on the plea filed by Sardar Latif Khan Khosa advocate, the secretary general of the PPP.

During the course of proceedings, besides advocate Khosa, Malik Rafique, the counsel for DIG Saud Aziz and SP Khurram Shehzad, the lawyers of other accused persons in the case and FIA special public prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry appeared before the court.

During the hearing of the plea, Advocate Khosa argued that though fresh commencement of a trial after the arrest of an absconder was a requirement under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), it was the discretion of the judge to restart or continue the trial.

It may be noted that following the arrest of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on April 18, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prepared a new challan of the case and submitted it to the ATC. The court indicted Musharraf in the case in August and started the trial of the case afresh.

Advocate Khosa contended before the judge that in 2011 the same court had discarded the earlier proceedings when the then CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and SP Rawal Town Khurram Shehzad were implicated in the murder case.

“Since the beginning of the trial in 2011 till the arrest of Musharraf, the court had recorded the statements of 26 witnesses. The trial will remain inconclusive if the court goes for the de novo (fresh) trial,” he observed.

Three accused persons are still absconding in the case and it is possible that after five years one of them may be arrested and the court will commence the trial afresh once again, he contended.

“The court’s time is very precious and should not be wasted in the repetition of useless exercises. The people of Pakistan are desperately waiting for the outcome of the case,” said Mr Khosa.

He requested the court that instead of commencing the proceedings afresh, the trial should be resumed from the stage where it was discontinued after the indictment of Gen Musharraf.

Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry, the FIA special prosecutor, supported the contention of Mr Khosa. He said special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali was murdered for pursuing the case against the accused persons.

“The witnesses were also under threat and the prosecution had brought them to the witness box after a laborious exercise and it would be difficult to convince them for recording their statements again,” he added.

Ilyas Siddiqui, the counsel for Mr Musharraf, however, told the court that since his client had been nominated as an accused person in the case and the challan had also been submitted to the ATC, the entire evidence should be produced in the court. He said it was the right of an accused person to examine the evidence and cross examine the witnesses.

Malik Rafique, the counsel for the two police officers, also supported the fresh proceedings. He said the PPP should have filed a petition five years back to become a party in the case when the ATC started the proceedings. It may be noted that in August 2013, the PPP filed an application with the ATC to become party in the murder case. However, it was turned down on September 9.

“If advocate Khosa, being attorney general during the PPP tenure, could not appear in the court any other PPP lawyer such as Aitzaz Ahsan could have filed the petition,” said Mr Rafique.

He said the PPP government was responsible for the delay in the trial as after about two years of Ms Bhutto’s murder it transferred the case from the Punjab police to the FIA.

He added that Rehman Malik was supervising the investigation and trial proceedings of the case and he should be held responsible for the delay.

The same court on April 1, 2013, had dismissed an identical application filed by the FIA through its then special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali.

The special prosecutor later filed an appeal against the order with the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench but after his murder on May 3 the matter was not pursued by the prosecution.