Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar has dismissed the allegations levelled against him by ex-chief justice Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Shamim and termed the claims as baseless, Aaj News reported on Monday.

The former Gilgit-Baltistan judge had claimed that Saqib Nisar had asked a high court judge to keep Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif in jail till the 2018 general elections.

The former chief justice said the allegations against him are far from reality and termed them as a lie. Nisar added that Rana Shamim had asked him for an extension in his tenure as CJ GB, which he didn’t approve.

Both Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were convicted by an accountability court in a graft case before the July 25, 2018 general elections. Their lawyers had moved the court for suspension of the conviction but the case after initial hearings was postponed till last week of July.

This article first appeared in Business Recorder on Nov 15, 2021.