Judge Bashir hangs up his robe

Convicted two former PMs; served as an accountability court judge for 12 years

ISLAMABAD:

Muhammad Bashir, the accountability court judge who convicted two former prime ministers—Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan—and their family members, has finally hung up his robes.

Bashir was appointed as the Islamabad Accountability Court-I judge on March 13, 2012, during the PPP's rule and served in the position for 12 years thanks to two extensions granted respectively by the PML-N and the PTI governments.

When the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed three references against former PM Nawaz Sharif and his family members on the order of the Supreme Court in 2017, the judge presided over the Avenfield case.

In July 2018, he convicted Nawaz, his daughter Maryam, and son-in-law Safdar, sentencing them to different prison terms. However, the Islamabad High Court later overturned this verdict.

The judge also oversaw the NAB reference filed against former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi for misusing the state's gifts repository. During the trial, he requested leave until his retirement, a request rejected by the Ministry of Law.

On January 31, the judge convicted both Imran and his wife, sentencing them each to 14 years in prison. After that, he once again sought leave until his retirement on health grounds.

Read also: Judge Bashir withdraws leave application

Muhammad Bashir was also adjudicating NAB cases against former PMs Yousaf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as well as PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sent a summary to the Ministry of Law to appoint an additional judge to the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC)-II.

Islamabad ATC-I Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain is currently on leave until April 26.

According to sources, due to absence of any judge at the ATCs, people facing cases in the courts are suffering. In the summary sent to the Ministry of Law, the IHC has recommended the elevation of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich to the ATC-II

Judge Zulqarnain, who also presides over the Special Court formed last year to hear cases under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, found former PM Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi guilty of misusing a diplomatic cipher and sentenced them to 10 years in prison each on Jan 30.