Daily Times

Islamabad Accountability Court-I Judge Muhammad Bashir once again requested leave till his retirement on March 14 citing medical grounds on Saturday.

The judge submitted the leave application to the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The high court acknowledged the receipt of the request.

Judge Bashir recently gave the verdict of the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi for misusing the official gifts repository.

Previously, on January 20 Justice Bashir had applied for medical leave until his retirement on March 14, citing deteriorating health. In the letter sent to the IHC and the Ministry of Law and Justice, the judge stated that due to his deteriorating health, he could not perform his duties.

However, the Ministry of Law and Justice did not approve his request. Following the denial, the judge withdrew his application, stating that he was now well and could perform his duties. The high-profile case against former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gilani and former president Asif Ali Zardari regarding Toshakhana cars is also under hearing in Judge Bashir’s court. He is also hearing a fake account case against Zardari as well as the NAB reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

In July 2018, Judge Bashir pronounced sentences against Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Captain Safdar in the Avenfield reference. The IHC overturned the verdict last year, on November 29. Judge Bashir, appointed in 2012 during the tenure of then PM Gilani, has served for an unusually extended period. Although accountability court judges are typically appointed for three years, Judge Bashir has been serving in the NAB court for eleven years.

His tenure has seen appointments by former PMs Nawaz Sharif in 2018 and Imran Khan in 2021. Judge Bashir’s courtroom has witnessed the appearances of four prime ministers – Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Nawaz Sharif, and Imran Khan – marking a unique and historically significant aspect of his judicial career.