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, it was 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.

Fawad reacts to allegations

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry asked Sharif family how it accumulated properties worth billions of rupees, instead of fabricating silly stories and conspiracy theories.

In his tweets, Fawad questioned from where Nawaz Sharif got the money to purchase Avenfield Apartments which were later given to Maryam Nawaz.

"It is hard to believe how a judge would issue such sensitive instructions in front of another person, while having tea," he said.

"And even the prime minister is not an ordinary man, he is the prime minister," tweeted Chaudhry.

Serious accusations

Rana Shamim had stated in a notarized affidavit that he had been witness to then CJP Saqib Nisar’s direction to a high court judge not to release Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on bail at any cost before the 2018 general elections.

“Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must remain in jail until the general elections are over,” the former judge stated in his statement.

Shamim’s statement was given under oath before the Oath Commissioner on November 10, 2021. The affidavit, duly notarized, contains the signature of the ex-CJ of Gilgit Baltistan as well as an image of his NIC card. The notary public stamped the affidavit and recorded that it was “sworn under oath Before me” on November 10, 2021.

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