Ex-CJP's audio clip exposes conspiracy against Nawaz, Maryam: Shehbaz Sharif

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has said that the audio of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar has exposed the conspiracy against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz.

In a statement, the PML-N leader said a ‘grand scheme’ was formed to force Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz to stay away from participating in political activities. The time has come to get rid of the incumbent government, he added, adding that the nation is waiting for the justice to be served.

“The emergence of a new audio clip of former Chief Justice shows how Nawaz Sharif & Maryam Nawaz were targeted as part of a grand scheme to keep them out of political process,” he said. “Time has come to right the wrongs inflicted on them. The nation looks forward to justice system.”

The emergence of a new audio clip of former Chief Justice shows how Nawaz Sharif & Maryam Nawaz were targeted as part of a grand scheme to keep them out of political process. Time has come to right the wrongs inflicted on them. The nation looks forward to justice system.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) November 22, 2021

Former CJP Saqib Nisar has been mired in another controversy after an alleged audio clip of his conversation with an unidentified person in which he purportedly passed instructions to sentence former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A Pakistani journalist published a news story in a little-known website that Nisar had instructed his subordinates to sentence the former prime minister and his daughter Maryam Nawaz at the behest of “institutions” in 2018 to “bring Imran Khan into power”.

Journalist Ahmed Noorani also shared the audio clip in which a man could be heard saying that in order to make space for Imran Khan in politics, Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz would have to be jailed.

In the audio clip, the man could also be heard saying that “even though there are no cases against Maryam Nawaz, she would still have to be punished.”

The former chief justice of Pakistan has denied the authenticity of the audio clip attributed to him. Speaking to a private news channel, Nisar refused to accept that it was his voice, saying that the “audio clip is being falsely associated with him.”

“I have just listened to this audio… this audio clip is fake which has been attributed to me,” Justice (retd) Nisar said. When asked if he would take legal action against the audio clip being associated with him, Nisar said he is pondering about “which legal option to go with.”

When the clip was initially leaked, Nisar had said that the report was “contrary to facts” and categorically denied that he had ever directed his subordinate judges in connection with any judicial order whether it pertained to Nawaz Sharif or anyone else.