Pro-govt group leads in bar elections

Preliminary results of the Punjab Bar Council elections show a clear lead for the pro-government Ahsan Bhoon–Azam Nazeer Tarar group.

In the Islamabad Bar Council, candidates backed by the Bhoon-Tarar group won three out of five seats, while the Hamid Khan group secured one and an independent candidate claimed another.

From the Bhoon group, Abdul Rehman Hur Bajwa topped the list with 1,369 votes, followed by Aalim Abbasi with 1,351 votes, Hafeezullah Yaqoob with 1,295, Zafar Khokhar with 1,288, and Asif Irfan with 1,126 votes.

Hafeezullah Yaqoob of the Hamid Khan group was also elected as a member of the bar council while Zafar Khokhar won as an independent.

In Rawalpindi, preliminary results for five seats were announced, with Imran Khan's counsel Faisal Mahmood among the winners. PTI-backed candidates bagged three of the five seats.

Malik Fakhar Hayat secured first position with 2,927 votes, followed by Hassan Abbas Hamdani (2,022 votes), Faisal Malik (1,730), Shahid Mahmood Abbasi (1,738), and Chaudhry Qaiser Mushtaq (1,689 votes).

In Lahore, polling for 75 seats witnessed a neck-and-neck contest. Over 132,300 lawyers exercised their right to vote at 52 polling booths set up across the city.

In the Balochistan Bar Council elections, the Professional Panel clinched three seats. Khalid Mehmood Advocate from Khuzdar was elected with 87 votes, defeating Zahoor Ahmed Advocate who received 43.

From Makran, Lasbela, and Hub, Jareen Dashti Advocate won with 163 votes, while Ayaz Mandokhel prevailed in Loralai by a margin of 56 votes, and Rahib Buleidi Advocate won from Naseerabad.

In Sindh, Law Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar Advocate, Karachi Bar President Amir Nawaz Warraich, and Naeem Qureshi were among the winners in the Sindh Bar Council elections.