Israrul Haq elected new SCBA president

Asma Jehangir’s ILF defeats main rivals PLF third time in a row.

LAHORE:

Mian Israrul Haq, a candidate of the Asma Jahangir-backed Independent Lawyers Forum (ILF) was elected as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association for the year 2012-13 on Wednesday.

This year’s SCBA presidential slot had been reserved for Punjab with ILF candidate Haq, Professional Lawyers Forum (PLF) candidate Ahmad Awais and independent candidate Zafarullah Khan vying  for the office.

Haq defeated Awais, his main opponent for the seat, by 287 votes. Of the nine polling stations set up across the country, he won the election from seven stations, obtaining 1,162 votes against Awais’s 875.

According to unofficial results, Haq and Awais secured 548 and 414 votes in Lahore, 193 and 116 in Islamabad, 143 and 135 in Karachi, 73 and 46 in Peshawar, 75 and 33 in Quetta, 68 and 63 in Multan, 22 and 32 in Bahawalpur, 21 and 25 in Abbottabad, and 19 and 11 votes in Hyderabad respectively.

Zafarullah Khan, meanwhile, could only secure four votes in all.

Delivering a brief speech at the Supreme Court’s Lahore registry following his victory, Haq vowed to play a pivotal for democracy in the country and strengthening its state institutions. He added that the legal fraternity’s welfare will be his top priority.

Haq’s victory dealt the Hamid Khan-led PLF its third defeat in the SCBA elections.

A 22-member faculty is elected annually to manage SCBA’s affairs. The executive committee consists of the president, four vice-presidents (one from each province), secretary, additional secretary and finance secretary along with 14 members elected from all over the country, at least two from each province.

ILF dominated the other key offices as well. Its candidate Javed Iqbal Raja defeated PLF’s Muhammad Sohail for SCBA secretary’s slot, while Abdul Majeed Khan defeated Salaheen Mughal for the additional secretary’s slot. Abdul Rasheed, meanwhile, was elected the SCBA finance secretary.

ILF swept the vice-presidential slots in all provinces. In Punjab, ILF candidate Muhammad Tahir Chaudhry defeated Rana Naeem, while Ainuddin Khan defeated Abbas Ali in Sindh. Abdullah Kakar defeated Muhammad Ayaz Khan in Balochistan. Meanwhile, ILF’s Jamal Khattak was elected unopposed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

PM Ashraf congratulates new SCBA president

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf congratulated Mian Israrul Haq on his victory. In a telephone conversation with Haq on Wednesday, PM Ashraf said SCBA was a shining example of an institution which upheld democratic traditions. Wishing the new SCBA president and other newly elected association office-bearers success in their endeavours, he expressed hope that the legal fraternity will benefit from the new SCBA leadership. PM Ashraf also praised outgoing SCBA president Yasin Azad’s efforts towards the wellbeing of the lawyers’ community during his tenure. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS IN KARACHI, ISLAMABAD AND PESHAWAR)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2012.