With the Supreme Court chucking the review petition filed by deposed Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, any real hopes of his life being spared hinged on General Ziaul Haq granting clemency. But since Bhutto had emphatically said he would not file any mercy petition, his family knew that if there were to be a mercy plea, it would have to be filed by them.

All eyes soon turned to the Presidency and the Punjab Governor’s House. Till the evening of March 31, 1979, in fact, no activity was seen around the office of Punjab Governor Lieutenant-General Sawar Khan. But then arrived Bhutto’s elder sister, Begum Shaharbano Imtiaz; she met her brother in Rawalpindi District Jail on April 1, 1979 and was said to be in the city to file a mercy petition.

On April 1, Begum Shaharbano Imtiaz filed a clemency appeal to Gen Zia. Begum Munawarul Islam, Bhutto’s younger sister, also happened to be in Islamabad; it was rumoured that she too had filed a similar plea, but she denied such reports. Mumtaz Bhutto, Bhutto’s cousin, also appeared in Islamabad but he denied having made any appeal. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, another PPP leader was in the capitol too, but he too denied having made an appeal for Bhutto’s life.

Bhutto’s elder sister lodges clemency plea but four former judges explain that the Supreme Court verdict was definitive

On the afternoon of April 1, a news report quoted a spokesman of the Chief Martial Law Administrator’s (CMLA) Secretariat saying that the decision on appeals for clemency and representations for commutation of Bhutto’s death sentence were still under consideration and that no decision had yet been taken. The report added that as per the rules, the petitions and representations received by the Punjab governor were being sent to the federal interior ministry. The ministry, after processing them, was to forward them to the president. Thereafter, the president, either by himself or in consultation with other relevant persons or agencies, would dispose of these appeals.

It was generally accepted that the president was not bound to make any decision immediately. Whenever he would arrive at a decision, the interior ministry would be intimated accordingly; the ministry would then make arrangements for family members of the prisoner to make their last visits.

But perhaps, the Bhutto family did not believe clemency would be granted. They began arriving in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for their last meetings with Bhutto. If their pleas were rejected by the president, Bhutto could be hanged at any one of the six Punjab jails.

The next day, on April 2, Punjab Governor Gen Sawar Khan rejected the mercy petitions and forwarded the papers to the interior ministry for onward transmission to the president.

On the other hand, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders present in Rawalpindi said that they were not aware of the fate of the mercy pleas. At the time, no jail authorities were available for comment either. It was hoped that whenever the jail authorities received the fate of the clemency pleas, they would seek a list of Bhutto’s relatives whom he would like to meet for the last time.

But perhaps, the Bhutto family did not believe clemency would be granted. They began arriving in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for their last meetings with Bhutto. If their pleas were rejected by the president, Bhutto could be hanged at any one of the six Punjab jails.

On the meetings list were also a select few outside the Bhutto family bond; these included former law minister Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, former Speaker of the National Assembly Sahibzada Farooq Ali Khan, and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.

Meanwhile, Begum Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were scheduled to meet Bhutto on April 2. But since Benazir was unwell on the day, jail authorities put off their visit for April 3. Benazir handed a written note to Bhutto’s lawyers, saying: “It is terrible that they are asking mummy and me for the last meeting. I can’t believe it but I will be brave and would not cry.”

The note was the first inkling that General Zia had rejected the mercy appeals.

As citizens waited for news from Islamabad about Bhutto’s fate, a noticeable development took place: four former judges of the higher courts issued a press statement from Lahore, apparently to communicate to people that carrying out the execution of sentence could not be “interfered with.”

Justice (retd) B. Z. Kaikaus, Justice (retd) Bashuirudin Ahmad Khan, Justice (retd) Changez Khan, and Justice (retd) Mohammad Siddique listed four reasons in their argument. In the first two, the former judges argued that since the government had accepted that the country is to be run by Islamic law, and that the sole sovereign of the country is the Almighty, He does not permit any reduction in a sentence. Another reason offered by the former judges was that any interference in the Supreme Court verdict was “wholly untenable.”

But it was the final reason that was most meaningful: “Even under the present law, the power to pardon belongs to the president and it must be exercised on the basis of his own opinion. He already stands committed that he will abide by the reference in the Supreme Court.”

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 18th, 2015

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