Justice Nisar says ‘fake’ audio clip meant to pressure judiciary

Former Chief Justice of Pakistan (ex-CJP) Saqib Nisar has said that a ‘fake’ audio clip attributed to him was meant to pressure the judiciary into favouring the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leadership, which faces court cases.

Speaking exclusively to SAMAA TV, he said that first ‘these people’ released his fake audio clip and then in a face-saving attempt they held a press conference.

The ex-CJP was referring to Maryam Nawaz’s the press conference on Wednesday.

“Ther is nothing new. They have used the same tactics in the past,” Justice (retd) Nisar told SAMAA’s Lahore Bureau Chief Naeem Hanif.

He said the judiciary in Pakistan has been independent and free past and present.

“The fake audio is an attempt to pressure the judiciary,” he said.

“Using such tactics this party wants to win relief from courts in the cases it is facing,” he added.

He said his position did not allow him to do what was being implied by the audio.

In the audio clip, the ex-CJP is allegedly saying, “Let me be a little blunt about it, unfortunately, we have institutions who give judgments.”

“In this case [the trial of Nawaz Sharif and her daughter] we will have to penalize Nawaz Sharif as we have been told that Imran Khan is to be brought to power.” 

However, a fact-check report by SAMAA TV revealed that the said audio clip appears to be pieced together from two separate speeches of former CJP Nisar.

The former chief justice appreciated SAMAA TV’s fact-check efforts and said the TV channel was doing a “jihad.”