Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday took notice of not extending the tenure of accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir, who is hearing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references against Sharif family. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has summoned the law secretary to explain why the government has not done anything in this matter despite Islamabad High Court's (IHC) request for an extension in the judge's tenure
Islamaabd, (Pakistan Point News - 07th Mar, 2018) : Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday took notice of not extending the tenure of accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir, who is hearing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references against Sharif family. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has summoned the law secretary to explain why the government has not done anything in this matter despite Islamabad High Court's (IHC) request for an extension in the judge's tenure.
Since September 2017, Justice Mohammad Bashir is hearing London flats, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investment references against ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar and also leading assets beyond income case against former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. He was appointed in 2012 while the Federal government, on the suggestion of IHC, extended his tenure for three years in 2015. Now, the judge is going to retire on March 13 this year.
Earlier, IHC had forwarded summary to law secretary seeking to extend the tenure of Justice Bashir for timely completion of hearings against the Sharif family. However, no action has been taken so far. SC disqualified Sharif from office in July over unreported sources of annual income of about $10,000, a salary the former premier denies ever receiving. The high court also ordered the NAB to investigate and conduct a trial into the Sharif family's wider finances, including the London properties. Sharif has also been ousted from the presidency of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which elected close ally Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister after Sharif was disqualified.
