The Islamabad High Court will hear Prime Minister Imran Khan and Planning Minister Asad Umar's petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan notices on Thursday (today) despite an objection in the petition raised by the IHC registrar.

Justice Athar Minallah will conduct hearing of the case.

The premier and the federal minister had submitted the plea against the commission's notices issued to them for violating the code of conduct by addressing public gatherings ahead of the second phase of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa local body elections on March 31.

The court objected that the petition was submitted without the prime minister's affidavit and his biometric verification. However, the documents related to the main petitioner, the federal minister, were complete.

In the petition filed through the Cabinet secretary, Umar and the prime minister challenged the notices and maintained that public office holders had been allowed to take part in the election campaigns by making amendments in the Election Act and the ECP had no powers to impose restrictions after the ordinance was promulgated. The commission had no authority to interpret the law, it said, adding that the ECP's order to the premier and federal ministers were against the law.

The election commission and the federation of Pakistan are respondents in the case.

Did the ECP have the right to remove amendments to the Election Act, after the same were promulgated through an ordinance, the petition asked.

The petitioners demanded that the commission's order issued on March 10 and notices issued on March 11 be declared null and void.

The commission asked the premier, federal ministers Murad Saeed and Umar, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and provincial ministers Mohibullah and Amjad Ali to appear before the ECP on March 18.

Toshakhana

The Islamabad High Court listed a case for hearing within a month wherein a new petitioner demanded that Prime Minister Imran Khan provide details of the foreign gifts given to him by various heads of states and governments, which were deposited in the Toshakhana.

A local journalist Rana Abrar Khalid filed the petition, making the Cabinet Division the respondent, adding that the Information Commission of Pakistan was directed to provide details of the Toshakhana. However, the department did not disclose it so far, it added.

The petitioner noted that the commission refused to provide details of the items in the Toshakhana and submitted a writ petition in the court.