LBA elections: LHCBA candidate could hurt Professional Group

Nauman Qureshi of Friends Group seen as slight favourite.

LAHORE:

Nauman Qureshi is being seen as the slight favourite for the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) elections because of his strong support among young lawyers and among some opposition party heavyweights.

Qureshi is the presidential candidate of the Friends Group, which is led by Asma Jehangir, for the LBA elections scheduled for January 13 at the Sessions Court. His main rival will be Chaudhry Zulfiqar of the Professional Group, led by Hamid Khan. Independent candidate Amir Iqbal Basharat also has significant backing.

Several members of the Professional Group are unhappy at the selection of Aslam Buttar as their presidential candidate for the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) elections, due next month, and are quietly backing Qureshi for the LBA, The Express Tribune has learnt.

They include Raja Javed Iqbal, who had sought the Professional Group nomination for the LHCBA elections. He said that Buttar’s selection had alienated several long-term members. Tasawwur Qureshi has also broken from the group to back Qureshi. Former LHCBA president Mian Asrarul Haq, Pakistan Bar Council member Ahsan Bhoon, Shahram Sarwar, Malik Qayyum, the Arain and Rajput clans and the Peoples Lawyers Forum also support him.

Qureshi told The Tribune he also had the backing of Jameel Sindhu, Hafiz Liaqat and others of the Jamaat-i-Islami. He vowed to launch extensive welfare projects if elected president.

Shehzad Hassan Sheikh, the incumbent LBA chief who is behind Qureshi, said that his administration had started several projects for the benefit of its members and was confident that Qureshi would continue the initiatives.

Young lawyers were instrumental in Sheikh’s election last year and Sajid Bashir’s success the year before, said observers.

“They were both relatively young and won support from young lawyers. Qureshi has the same advantage,” said one lawyer.

Chaudhry Zulifqar, who is currently in his second stint as member of the Punjab Bar Council, has the backing of PML-Nawaz and Jamaat-i-Islami lawyers, as well as the Jatt clan, the biggest in the bar. His supporters include former LHCBA president Ahmed Awais, Peer Kalim Khurshid and Pakistan Bar Council member Maqsood Buttar.

Basharat, the independent candidate, has the support of Justice (retired) Amir Alam Khan.

Some 11,107 registered LBA voters will also elect vice presidents and secretaries in the elections on January 13. Malik Faiz Khokhar, Mian Shahzad Hassan, Rana Javed Bashir, Ubaidur Rehman Gondal and Nasreen Ijaz are running for the vice president’s seat, with the former two considered strong candidates. Agha Shazaib Masood is expected to defeat Muhammad Riaz Bhatti for the post of Model Town vice president. Nadeem Chaudhry, Jawad Akbar Gill, Qadir Nawaz Ranjha, Asad Zaidi and Waheed Awan are vying for two bar secretary seats. Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed and Saima Malik are competing to be joint secretary, while Fazaila Farheen Rana and Malik Liaqat Awan are running for finance secretary. Sheikh Muhammad Amir and Mirza Waqar Aslam Baig are standing for the library secretary seat.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2012.