ISLAMABAD:A three-member Supreme Court bench will hear a petition tomorrow (Friday), requesting the apex court to order that elections be held on the same day across the country.

The bench comprises Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar. The petition was filed by a citizen, Sardar Kashif Khan, making the federal government, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and major political parties as respondents.

“It would be “in the interests of justice and equity as well as fulfilment of the constitutional imperatives (and balancing of competing constitutional requirements) if the general elections of National Assembly and all four provincial assemblies were held together rather than in piecemeal”, the petition had stated.

The petition had stated that if elections across the country were held on the same day, they would be done under caretaker setups which would “ensure that the general elections are carried out honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law”.

Besides, holding elections simultaneously would save billions of rupees and the expenses could be included in the budget for the upcoming year, the petition had read.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held multiple rounds of talks on the directives of the Supreme Court to try and build a consensus on a date for the elections. Both sides agreed to hold elections on the same day across the country but failed to evolve consensus on the date of the polls.