ISLAMABAD: Former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday rejected the rigging accusations made against him by Pakistan Tehreeak-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, terming them as 'baseless', DawnNews reported.

The former chief justice said that Returning Officers (ROs) for the 2013 elections were appointed by the Election Commission of Pakistan and not by him. He added that the 'absurd' allegations hurled by the PTI chief did not warrant a response.

Earlier in May, PTI chief Imran Khan had openly criticised the former chief justice and the Jang/Geo group for their alleged involvement in the rigging during the 2013 polls. Khan had asked the current chief justice to take notice of how, with the support of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, this powerful media house had ‘stolen’ the general elections in favour of one party.

He alleged that when the now-retired chief justice made an unprecedented appearance at a lecture for returning officers before the general elections, it sent a signal to the TV channel that declared the PML-N victorious when only 20 per cent of votes had been counted.

Speaking to the media after addressing the Islamabad Bar, Chaudhry said the judiciary had been serving justice and would continue to do so.

He added that the constitution had defined the roles of the judiciary and the armed forces of Pakistan and he was sure there would not be a clash between different state institutions.

Ex-Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said both the judiciary and armed forces were not debatable topics.

He also demanded the payment of compensation to the victims of the Islamabad court attack on March 3, in accordance with Justice Shaukat Siddiqui's report on the matter.