LAHORE – Asma Jahangir-led Democratic Group of Lawyers has swept the Supreme Court Bar Association election 2012-13 giving a crushing defeat to Hamid Khan-led Professional Group of Lawyers on all top slots, including those of president, vice presidents and secretary. In the run for the post of bar president, Israrul Haq has been voted by 1,162 lawyers from all the nine polling stations set up in different parts of the country. Haq has won the slot by bagging 287 more votes than his nearest rival. Although Ahmed Awais did manage to beat Haq from two polling stations, he could clinch just 875 votes. According to Malik Ghulam Abbas Nissoana, the presiding officer for Punjab, Haq left Awais behind by 134 votes in Lahore, where 988 lawyers of a total of 1,167 cast their vote on Wednesday. Senior jurists say the clean sweep of the democratic group is due to the legal fraternity’s strong resentment against the present judiciary. However, experts are of the view that Haq was supported by the PPP and PML-N while Ahmad Awais by a newly-emerging group, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The democratic group is said to be an association of lawyers who are of the view that the judiciary shouldn’t interfere in Parliament and executive affairs. Contrarily, the professional group is a pro-judiciary group. Israrul Haq got 548 votes from Lahore, 68 from Multan, 21 from Abbottabad, 22 from Bahawalpur, 153 from Karachi, 19 from Hyderabad, 75 from Quetta, 73 from Peshawar and 193 from Islamabad. On the other hand, Awais secured 414 votes from Lahore, 63 from Multan, 25 from Abbottabad, 32 from Bahawalpur, 135 from Karachi, 11 from Hyderabad, 33 from Quetta, 46 from Peshawar and 116 from Islamabad.In the run for the seat of SCBA secretary, democratic group’s Javed Iqbal Raja secured 1,037 votes and his opponent Muhammad Sohail Dar only 835.Sardar Abdul Majeed Khan of the democratic group won the slot of additional secretary by getting 411 votes against Saliheen Moghal’s 365.Likewise, Muhammad Tahir Chaudhry has been elected as SCBA vice-president from Punjab with his thumping 557 votes. His opponent Rana Naeem Sarwar of the professional group bagged 406 votes. Jamal Khattak was declared unopposed SCBA vice-president from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For the SCBA vice-president seat for Balochistan, Abdullah Kakar of the democratic group secured 509 votes, while his opponent Muhammad Ayaz Khan Sawati got 400 votes. Another candidate of winning group Ainuddin Khan secured 376 votes and was elected as vice-president.It may be mentioned here that Israrul Haq Mian has been known for his social services to the legal fraternity. He had managed to get a housing society for lawyers of the provincial capital in Sabzazar area during his incumbency as president of the Lahore Bar Association. Besides, he had arranged a small hospital on Lahore High Court premises. He is also a sitting member of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Trending Discussions

Worst power outages as shortfall crosses 7,000MW

Three killed in Peshawar’s suicide attack