LAHORE, Nov 10 A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) hearing appeals against postponement of by-elections in Punjab on Tuesday took notice of large election meetings in Gilgat and Baltistan despite government's plea of the bad law and order situation in the country for holding by-election.

The bench, consisting of Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, was hearing three intra-court appeals filed by Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, a candidate for NA-55, Rawalpindi, and Muhammad Azhar Siddique and Manzoor Ali Gillani, advocates and candidates for NA-123, respectively.

As hearing started on Tuesday, Khwaja Haris advocate resumed his arguments on behalf of the Punjab government.

During the course of arguments, Justice Ahsan asked Haris as to how all main political leaders of the country were addressing huge election meetings in Gilgat and Baltistan if the law and order situation was bad in country.

Having no satisfactory reply, the provincial government's lawyer could only say that no terrorism attack had occurred in those cities for the last one month.

Advocate Haris continued his arguments about locus standi of the government, saying the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should have granted the government an ample opportunity of hearing before issuing election schedule.

The bench adjourned hearing for Wednesday (today) as the arguments of the counsel were in progress.

A single bench consisting of Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Oct 9 accepted the petition filed by the Punjab government and postponed by-election in the province on the ground that the ECP had not provided the government an opportunity of hearing.

ADJOURNED Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court adjourned for Nov 12 the hearing of a petition against Pakistan Bar Council's decision of declaring Munawwar Iqbal Gondal as acting president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association.

The judge had already suspended the operation of the impugned order of the PBC issued on Oct 7.

On Tuesday, petitioner Nasira Iqbal's counsel Ahmad Awais advanced his arguments after that the hearing was adjourned.