Court refuses to make PPP party in Benazir case

aazad.mubassir

Minister (2k+ posts)
Court refuses to make PPP party in Benazir case. Says a political party can't be a party in murder case but heirs

http://dawn.com/news/1040382

ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Anti- Terrorism Court (ATC) of Rawalpindi on Tuesday turned down Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) request to become party in the Benazir Bhutto murder case saying only legal heirs enjoyed this right.

This observation was made by ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman while taking up the application of the PPP filed by its secretary general, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa.

During the hearing Mr Khosa took the plea that since the party’s chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was the son of Benazir Bhutto and her legal heir, therefore, PPP has the right to become party in the case.

Special public prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Chaudhry Mohammad Azhar on the other hand opposed PPP’s plea.

When ATC Judge Rehman offered Khosa to advance his arguments in support of his plea, he replied that he did not want to press the application.

“I don’t want to press it,” Khosa pleaded.

The court, however, allowed the PPP lawyer to pursue the case on behalf of Tauqir Akram who was also killed along with 23 other persons on December 27, 2007.

Chaudhry Mohammad Akram, father of the deceased Tauqir, had authorised Sardar Khosa and other PPP lawyers to plead the case of his son.

Last week, PPP had decided to become a party in Benazir case and had submitted two applications seeking access to the case record.

After indictment of Pervez Musharraf, Anti- Terrorism Court re-started process of recording statements of 27 witnesses, which was opposed by Khosa arguing that re-recording statements of all 27 witnesses would delay the case.

He said only those witnesses should be summoned the Musharraf lawyers wanted to cross examine.

The court adjourned the hearing till September 17.

Talking to mediapersons outside the courtroom, Latif Khosa said it was incorrect that President Asif Ali Zardari did not want postmortem on Benazir Bhutto’s body, adding that it was the responsibility of the state to complete this process.
 

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