Abbottabad Press Club elections face legal hurdles

The Abbottabad District Bar Association has informed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that the incumbent office-bearers of the Abbottabad Press Club had already secured an extension to their tenure and were reluctant to hold annual elections.

The association said it was, therefore, not in a position to conduct or ensure the elections, clarifying that under the relevant government notification its mandate was limited to supervising the election process once the press club itself initiated it in accordance with the law.

The clarification came in response to a letter from the deputy director of information requesting District Bar Association President Imran Younas Tanoli to ensure that the long-pending elections of the Abbottabad Press Club were held at the earliest under his supervision.

The request was made in pursuance of directions issued by the Press Registrar of the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, regarding the implementation of government instructions and the Peshawar High Court's orders concerning press club elections.

In his written reply, Tanoli said that after receiving the communication, he convened a meeting of all stakeholders, including representatives of the Information Department, the president of the Abbottabad Press Club and the petitioners in Writ Petition No. 343-A/2025, to explore the possibility of holding the elections.