ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed all three petitions challenging the validity of the 2013 general elections.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and comprising Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ijaz Chaudhry was hearing the case.

During the hearing, CJP remarked how the petitioners will prove that pre-election arrangements were based on ill-intent.

He further stated that the petitions were not maintainable and were only a pile of accusations that could not be considered as record and that it was not the court’s responsibility to launch investigation by considering the allegations as facts.

The SC had earlier accepted three petitions challenging the 2013 general elections and requesting the court to declare them null and void. The elections were challenged by former SC Justice (retd) Muhammad Akhtar Siddiqui, former interior minister Mian Zahid Sarfaraz and a citizen Dawood Ghaznavi.

The petitions stated the 2013 elections should be declared null and void due to the faulty magnetic ink used by the ECP and rigging. The petitions called on the SC to order new elections.

During the hearing, after arguments with the counsels of the petitioners, the court rejected the applications.

In another development, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday accepted a petition seeking ban on PML-N, PPP and JUI-F for hearing.

The petition was filed by Gohar Nawaz Sandhu of PTI. It was stated that PML-N, PPP and JUI-F have violated Political Parties Act by not holding intra-party polls.

The petitioner has pleaded the court to not allow the parties to contest the general elections till they hold elections within their own parties.

Earlier, the LHC had removed the objections filed by the LHC Office and accepted the petition for hearing. INP