President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved the appointment of Sahiwal Additional District and Sessions Judge Javed Akhtar (promoted as D&SJ) as the judge of Accountability Court-1 Lahore on deputation basis, in his own pay and scale until the date of his retirement i.e. April 2013 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. According to the summary received by the presidency from the prime minister’s office and initiated by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the post of judge, Accountability Court-I, Lahore, will fall vacant after the repatriation of the incumbent judge as desired by the chief justice of the Lahore High Court.
Under the relevant rules, the judge of an accountability court is to be appointed by the president of Pakistan in consultation with the chief justice of the high court concerned and shall hold office for three years. The Ministry of Law and Justice considered a panel of three judicial officers sent to it by the Lahore High Court and recommended to the prime minister to advise the president to approve the appointment of Javed Akhtar as the judge of Accountability Court-1 Lahore. The president also approved appointment of District and Sessions Judge Malik Izhar-ul-Haq as a judge of Accountability Court-1V, Lahore, as the post is lying vacant due to the retirement of Mian Muhammad Shafi on 19 April, 2012. The president also approved appointment of D&SJ Ms Zarqaish Sani as the judge of Accountability Court-II, Peshawar.
