Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate Nasir Cheema from Gujranwala's PP-53 constituency is in hot water for using pictures of the army chief and chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) in his campaign advertisements and posters.

"Are they related to you? What is the army chief and CJP's link to the elections? On what basis did you put up their pictures?" asked retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza — the chief election commissioner (CEC) — on Monday, during the hearing of an appeal against the PTI candidate.

According to Cheema — who won Gujranwala's constituency PP-97 in the 2015 by-poll — the advertisements and posters were put up before the election schedule was issued.

The chief election commissioner, however, was not interested in the timing. "Regardless of when they were put up — you explain why they [images] were put up?"

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asked Cheema to submit a written reply, asking him to give reasons as to why he should not be stopped from contesting the elections.

The hearing was adjourned until July 9.

Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Nasir Cheema is conesting from Gujranwala's PP-62 constituency. The error is regretted.