Bhutto: Witness is liar
NZPA-Reuter Rawalpindi
The condemned former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, has told the Pakistan Supreme Court that his conviction for conspiring to murder a political opponent was based on lies. Mr Bhutto, who is appearing in the closing stages of an appeal against his conviction and death sentence, attacked the reliability and credibility of Masood Mahmood, the former chief of the para-military Federal Security Force who turned witness against him in return for a pardon. “If I am a compulsive liar,” Mr Bhutto said, quoting the earlier judgment of the Lahore High Court where he was convicted, “Then he (Mr Mahmood) is a congenital liar,”
The former Prime Minister will complete his four days
of submissions today with illustrations of the bias he alleges was shown against him by the High Court when it convicted him last March of conspiring to murder a politician, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, four years ago.
He was also sentenced to hang for murdering Mr Ka«
suri’s father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmed Kasuri.
“The burden of proof was shifted on to me and the benefit of the doubt was given to the prosecution and not to the defendant,” he said. The Supreme Court can release Mr Bhutto, confirm
the sentence, reduce it, or order a retrial. Pakistan’s military ruler, General Mohammad Zia-Ul-Haq, has
■ said he would abide by the i court’s ruling.
Mr Bhutto arrived 20 minutes late in court after an argument at the district jail with the police. He said his jailers refused to explain why they wanted him to travel in a lorry packed with policemen when the van that he had used so far was also available. He made it a matter nf honour to demand an explanation even if he had to forfeit his right to appear m court, Mr Bhutto said. The Chief Justice (Mr Anwar-UI-Haqueq), described the incident as unnecessary and ordered the police to avoid arguments.
Mr Bhutto, a Western-edu cated lawyer, displa>e<l flashes of humour during h:; three-hour submission and was clearly at ease.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 22 December 1978, Page 5
Word Count
342Bhutto: Witness is liar Press, 22 December 1978, Page 5
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