ISLAMABAD: The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday submitted a written reply in the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to reopening of four Punjab constituencies requested by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The government demanded the apex court to snub the petition as it was non-maintainable due to being sub judice in election tribunals, DawnNews reported.

The rejoinder, submitted by the office of Attorney General on behalf of the Law Ministry, said that the case regarding recounting of ballots and verification of thumb impressions of the constituencies was pending before election tribunals and therefore was out of the apex court’s jurisdiction.

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All the four constituencies under question were bagged by the ruling PML-N stalwarts — Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq (NA-125, Lahore) Siddiq Khan Baloch (NA-154, Lodhran), Defence and Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (NA-110, Sialkot) and Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (NA-122, Lahore).

According to Article 225 of the Constitution, petitions pertaining to elections fall under the jurisdiction of election tribunals, said the rejoinder. Therefore, the Supreme Court cannot be asked to hear such petitions, it added.

The government also pleaded before the court to rebuff the PTI’s petition for what it termed vague and generic allegations hurled in it. The PTI’s petition was also not attached with any evidence, added the PML-N response.

After staging anti-government protest rallies across the country and a sit-in in the federal capital for months, PTI Chairman Imran Khan on November 30 announced his 'Plan C' to paralyse the country's major cities and eventually “shut down” the entire country.

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Reiterating demands for Prime Minister Sharif's resignation and a fair probe into alleged rigging of the 2013 elections, the cricketer-turned-politician appeared confident that his new push for street agitation would succeed.