ISLAMABAD: Vowing to “expose the nexus between former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PMLN) over the alleged poll rigging," Central Information Secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Dr Shireen Mazari termed the ex-CJ an 'opening batsman' of the ruling party.

The press release came the same day Justice (retd) Chaudhry sent a defamation notice worth 20 billion rupees to PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Chaudhry’s lawyers, while speaking to media representatives outside the Supreme Court, said Imran Khan was attempting to disparage and malign the superior judiciary.

Mazari said her party welcomes this opportunity to “expose the nexus between the ex-CJ and the PMLN especially over the rigging of the May 2013 election and the cover-up that followed.”

“This is what derailed democracy. PTI intends to restore and strengthen democracy by exposing this planned mass rigging on August 14 through its Azadi March,” she added.

The PTI stalwart said the legal notice, apparently sent to the party chairman, was yet to be received. However, she made it clear that there was 'no way' the PTI and its chairman would back down.

Mazari reiterated her party’s resolve to go ahead with the August 14 march on Islamabad despite all alleged ‘tactics’ by the ruling party.

PTI chief Khan had accused the former chief justice of poll rigging in the 2013 general election.

Chaudhry's son, Arsalan Iftikhar, had alleged that Imran Khan did not fulfill the criterion set for being an elected representative of the people, as described in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Arsalan had said that there were doubts on Imran’s credibility to be elected as a parliamentarian.

Also recently, two lawyers had filed petitions against the PTI chief citing that the statements made by him maligned the former chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court.