In rare media interaction, Pakistan’s top judge refutes rigging allegations raised against him by senior bureaucrat

A screengrab taken on October 11, 2023, from PTV News, shows Pakistan's chief justice Qazi Faez Isa announcing the verdict on the petitions against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: PTV News)

• The Rawalpindi commissioner accused Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of manipulating the outcome of the Feb. 8 elections
• The chief justice says he has nothing to do with national polls, though his court rulings prevented efforts to delay them

ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented development, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Saturday rejected the rigging allegations against him in a casual media interaction in Islamabad after a senior bureaucrat accused him and the chief election commissioner of manipulating the outcome of the February 8 polls.
The accusation was made earlier in the day by Commissioner of Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chattha in a news conference during which he confessed he was also guilty of changing results in 13 national and 26 provincial assembly constituencies.
Chattha, who resigned from his post, said he was handing himself over to the police, adding that he deserved capital punishment.
Responding to the rigging allegation against him, the chief justice said he had nothing to do with national elections in the country.
“Forget about me as an individual, but there are [state] institutions in Pakistan,” he said in a brief conversation with reporters in Islamabad who asked him about the accusation. “Don’t destroy them any further. I am also heading an institution as the chief justice. So, if you make baseless allegations, which have no truth in them, and you don’t offer any evidence, then you can level any accusation [like this]. Tomorrow you can raise allegations of stealing or murder. If it is your right to accuse people, you should also fulfil your responsibility by providing evidence.”
He recalled that his court had taken up election related cases since attempts were being made to further delay them. However, the Supreme Court had issued rulings to prevent that from happening.
Asked if he would issue a contempt notice to the Rawalpindi commissioner, he said he was against the idea of taking such steps.
The chief justice will also take up another case seeking the annulment of the recent polls in the coming week amid mounting allegations of election manipulation.
However, he refused to say anything about it in advance when he asked if he would invite the Rawalpindi commissioner to present evidence of his claims.