Significant upset: Farogh Naseem elected PBC vice president

Pakistan Bar Council’s elected body consists of 23 elected lawyers who belong to different provinces


Our Correspondent January 25, 2016
Farogh Naseem. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


Barrister Farogh Naseem, a renowned lawyer and senator of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), has been elected as vice president of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).


Pakistan Bar Council’s elected body consists of 23 elected lawyers who belong to different provinces. The tenure of the elected body is five years; however, vice chairman is elected for one year.

Legal experts believe that PBC vice chairmanship is the biggest slot of the lawyers’ community; therefore, the election holds huge significance in the prevailing political situation, where the MQM is facing a tough time from the security establishment.

In a secret balloting process on Monday, Farogh Nasim, who belongs to Hamid Khan’s group, secured 12 votes while his opponent, Syed Amjid Shah, bagged 11 votes.  Abdul Fayaz, also from Hamid Khan’s group, has been elected as PBC chairman executive committee. Interestingly, Asma Jahangir’s group, which is known as Democratic Group, has been defeated in the PBC election after eight years.

Earlier, Hamid Khan group – known as Professional Group – had dominated bar politics from 1995 to 2008. The group had also played a key role in the LFO Movement as well as Lawyers’ Movement. Later on, it became close to the superior judiciary after the reinstatement of the former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and a number of lawyers belonging to this faction were appointed as judges of superior courts.

However, the downfall of Professional group started, when representatives of Professional group approached the Supreme Court seeking the removal of the PCO judges.

On their plea, more than 100 superior court judges were ousted through July 31, 2009 landmark verdict.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th,  2016.

 

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