Nasir Javed Rana appointed as an accountability court judge

The Ministry of Law and Justice has appointed Nasir Javed Rana as a new judge of Islamabad Accountability Court-I. Muhammad Bashir is the current judge of the accountability court.

Muhammad Bashir is going to retire on March 14, 2024. According to the ministry statement, Nasir Javed Rana has been appointed as an accountability court judge until Jan 24, 2027.

The Ministry of Law has issued a notification confirming the appointment of Judge Nasir Javed Rana to the Accountability Court. Judge Nasir Javed Rana, currently serving at Grade 21, has been appointed on deputation for a period of three years. This appointment comes as Judge… pic.twitter.com/GUvfGJqFkG
— Ali Sajjad (@AliSajjadceo) February 19, 2024

It came when Judge Bashir requested medical leave until his retirement on Jan 20, 2024. In a letter to the IHC and Ministry of Law and Justice, Judge Bashir expressed he was unable to perform his duties owing to his poor health.

However, the ministry did not grant his request. After his plea was denied, the judge Bashir withdrew his application on Jan 27, 2024. He claimed he was now well and capable of performing his duties.

The next day on Jan 28, 2024, Judge Bashir sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi to 14 years imprisonment in the Toshakhana case. He charged them for misusing the state’s gift items during the tenure of Imran Khan as Prime Minister.

Judge Bashir again requested leave on Feb 3, 2024, till retirement on medical grounds. Judge Bashir was hearing several high-profile cases. It included the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references filed against Imran Khan and his wife over their alleged participation in a 190 million euro Al-Qadir scandal.

Click here to read the updates on the Pakistan Government appointing army officers to NAB

He also heard another Toshakhana reference, in which former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif, Yousuf Raza Gillani, and former president Asif Ali Zardari were involved.

Judge Bashir also presided over the hearing of a bogus account case filed against Zardari and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. He assumed charge during the tenure of then-Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and served an exceptionally long term in 2012.

Afterward, Nawaz Sharif appointed him in 2018, followed by Imran Khan in 2021. However, Judge Bashir is possibly the only judge in the country to have convicted two prime ministers. He convicted both Nawaz and Imran in corruption trials.