ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday resumed hearing of a petition filed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party regarding a delay in the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies, which were dissolved earlier this year in January.

Last week, the country’s election authority announced to postpone the Punjab polls from April 30 to October 8.

In an order issued on March 22, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it was exercising its powers under Article 281 (3), read in conjunction with Sections 58 and 8 (c) of the Election Act, 2017, to withdraw the previous schedule while promising to issue a new one in due course of time.

However, Khan’s party, which has been seeking early national elections since the downfall of its administration in a no-trust vote last year in April, decided to challenge the proclamation in the top court of the country.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial took up the PTI petition on Tuesday and held a three-hour hearing.

“Elections can only be postponed by declaring an emergency,” he observed before adjourning the hearing until Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the government tabled a bill in parliament to curtail the powers of the country’s top judge to take suo motu notices and constitute benches. The bill also suggested to provide the right to appeal to the aggrieved party in suo motu cases.

The development came hours after two Supreme Court judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, called for revisiting the power of “one-man show” enjoyed by the chief justice in a dissenting note that advocated for a collegial system to ensure transparency and accountability in the justice system.

Pakistan’s national assembly also adopted a resolution on Tuesday, urging the Supreme Court not to interfere in “political matters” and with the authority of the country’s election regulator.

The ECP announced election postponement while citing security and other reasons. The government has also said that all the national and provincial assembly elections should take place simultaneously in October this year.