ISLAMABAD, May 8: The Supreme Court was requested on Monday by the Attorney-General of Pakistan to adjourn the hearing of a constitutional petition seeking disqualification of 65 MMA members of parliament and provincial assemblies, as he (the AG) needed a fortnight for “full instructions from the government and for preparation of the case.”

The court, which had taken up the petition within 48 hours of its filing, adjourned the case for 10 days. It will be taken up on May 19.

“You need 15 days for assisting the court on the question of maintainability of the petition,” Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, a member of three-judge bench, wondered.

Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan said that in such cases two weeks’ time was not too much as you need full instructions from the client and full preparations.

Dr Aslam Khaki, in his petition, has requested the court to direct the Election Commission to declare 65 MMA lawmakers disqualified because their educational degrees, procured from religious institutions, were not equivalent to bachelors’ degrees.

The court on Thursday started hearing of the case but it adjourned the hearing on the request of the AG till May 19.