Toshakhana case: Nawaz Sharif alleges Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial supports jailed Imran Khan

Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday accused Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial of trying to save Imran Khan after he picked holes in the conviction of the ex-premier in the Toshakhana corruption case verdict. Chief Justice Bandial on Wednesday said there were “shortcomings” in the trial court’s Toshakhana case judgment against 70-year-old Khan. “The chief justice is well aware that this person [Imran Khan] has wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s economy, ethics, and culture. He has propagated violence and repeatedly violated the Constitution,” Sharif told reporters outside his Avenfield residence in London, where he has been living since 2019. The supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that the chief justice was putting his own future at stake by safeguarding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. “It pains me to witness that, despite knowing everything, he (CJP) is supporting him (Imran),” he said. Sharif said that former chief justice Saqib Nisar had previously claimed that his aim was to disqualify him and throw him behind bars. “It is on record that Saqib Nisar had also said in the past that we must imprison Maryam Nawaz and me and bring Imran Khan into power,” he said.