AS the judiciary finds itself getting pulled into the political maelstrom, a former top judge has returned to news headlines, more than three years after his retirement.

Facing relentless criticism from the PML-N top brass, which accuses him of favouring the PTI and its chairman, retired chief justice Saqib Nisar sought to defend his legacy in a recent interview to Dawn News.

In the interview, Mr Nisar pushed back, claiming that Mr Sharif once referred to him as “our chief” before he was appointed top judge. He described Mr Sharif as “a favourite of the courts [himself]”, claiming that the PML-N chief had “always gotten relief from the courts” in all but one case. Dismissing criticism of his judgements which are seen as favouring the PTI, the former chief justice insisted they were grounded in the law.

Mr Nisar also rubbished accusations that he was manipulated by the former ISI chief, retired Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, asking, “who was he to pressure me?” Mr Nisar also clarified that he had never given a blanket ‘sadiq and ameen’ certification to Mr Khan, and that his judgement was only in reference to three separate charges levelled against the PTI chief.

Importantly, he conceded that he may have made errors in his judgements as he was “only human”, though he stopped short of mentioning which judgements he was referring to. The last, in particular, was a startling admission coming from a past chief justice.

It may be recalled that though Mr Nisar himself had not been part of the Panamagate bench that disqualified Nawaz Sharif, he did author several equally important judgements, including the one setting a lifetime bar on politicians disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) and the one disqualifying Mr Sharif from being party head after to the Panamagate verdict.

Mr Nisar’s court had earned a reputation for initiating suo motu cases, and as chief justice, he was criticised for routinely going out of his ambit to make surprise visits to hospitals and jails, and for initiating the dam fund.

During his tenure, the PML-N saw disqualifications, criminal convictions and even contempt proceedings against its leaders. It was also frustrated repeatedly as it sought to secure relief for its senior leadership. For the man who exercised sweeping powers at the time to now excuse himself as ‘merely human’ does not seem enough.

The PML-N considers itself justified in seeking greater accountability for Mr Nisar’s tenure, during which it seemed as if the judiciary was on a crusade against the party.

Though its demand and expectation that the PTI now be subjected to the same treatment are highly problematic, the N-league does deserve a thorough review of the judgements it was made to suffer and which dealt it great political damage over the past years.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2023