[JURIST] Major General Nadeem Ijaz, the director general of Pakistan's Military Intelligence (MI) and a close relative of President General Pervez Musharraf, filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] Thursday alleging that suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] wanted Musharraf to dissolve the government and appoint Chaudhry leader of an interim government and also wanted intelligence formation about other judges months before his March 9 suspension [JURIST report]. Munir A. Malik, a lawyer for the suspended chief justice, said the allegations were lies and said that he still wanted to cross-examine Musharraf in court.

Ijaz's affidavit was accompanied by two others filed by Aijaz Shah, head of the Intelligence Bureau, and Lieutenant General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani, director general of the Inter Services Intelligence, who were all present at the March 9 meeting between Musharraf and Chaudhry. Shah claims that Chaudhry had sought his assistance in suppressing media reports about his alleged misconduct. The statements are in response to an affidavit submitted by Chaudhry's lawyers last Tuesday, in which Chaudhry claims he was detained against his will and pressed to resign [IHT report]. AFP has more.