Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf's (PTI) counsel Anwar Mansoor on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the petition filed by PML-N leader Hanif Abassi, seeking the disqualification of PTI chief Imran Khan and Secretary General Jehangir Tareen, was inadmissible in the apex court.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, has been hearing a petition which accuses the two PTI leaders of concealing their assets from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and seeks to unseat them based on their alleged violations of the lncome Tax Ordinance 1979 and Peoples Act 1974.

The petition, which was accepted by the apex court in November last year, also accuses the PTI of being a 'foreign-funded' party.

During Wednesday's hearing, as he began his arguments before the bench, Mansoor told the bench that the petition was inadmissible in court and had failed to distinguish between "aid, funding and donation."

"The PTI does not accept funds or aid, rather it operates solely on donations," Mansoor told the bench.

The PTI's counsel further said that Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Article 6 of the Political Parties Order, 2002 allow parties to accept donations from members and supporters, and prohibit them only from accepting funds from foreign governments.

"In this context, those who have left [Pakistan] and are living abroad are residents of those countries and considered foreigners," Justice Umar Ata Bandial told the counsel.

In response, Mansoor pointed out that Pakistan has agreements regarding dual nationalities with several countries, adding that "an individual can have nationalities for both Pakistan and America."

During the hearing, PTI also submitted the details of PTI's banks accounts, financial statements, and a financial brief of the PTI's USA chapter.

Tax returns from 2013-2015 submitted before the ECP, details regarding the party's foreign funding, and a report approved by an auditor of the PML-N were also included in the PTI's documents.

Submitting the documents before the bench, Mansoor also said that the party's funding was a matter of the past and should not be raised now.

The counsel argued that the ECP reviews account details in keeping with the law when they are submitted before the commission.

Mansoor argued that once accounts are approved by the ECP, they cannot be reopened.

"The ECP reviews all details submitted before it and approves of them in keeping with the law. It then allots an election symbol to the party," Mansoor told the bench.

"Holding intra-party elections and providing details of the party's accounts are the two conditions which need to be fulfilled before an election symbol is allotted to a party," he said.

"The election has already taken place, this matter cannot be raised now," Mansoor said.

Justice Faisal Arab asked the counsel whether the PTI's accounts could be audited.

“I have submitted the details of the audit to the court," the lawyer said in response.

“Private chartered accounts now conduct the audits for political parties," the counsel told the bench, adding, "According to the People's Representation Act, not just any individual can object to the accounts of a party."

Turning his attention to details regarding the PTI's USA chapter, the lawyer said the PTI Limited Liability Company is responsible for the organisation of the party in America.

Mansoor also told the bench that funds received from the USA chapter include membership fees and are accepted in the form of cheques or by credit card.

The hearing was adjourned till Thursday.