Lahore Bar elections: Qureshi wins top spot in a tight race

New president says he will strengthen the bar-bench relationship.

LAHORE: Nauman Qureshi of the Asma Jahangir-led Friend’s Group was elected the president for the 2013-2014 term of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) on Saturday. He defeated Professional Group’s Chaudhry Muhammad Ishtiaq in a close contest.

Qureshi received 2,468 votes while Ishtiaq grabbed 2,138 votes. Mian Shahzad Hassan (2,144 votes) and Tauqeer Sadiq (1,920 votes) were elected vice presidents. Nadeem Nawaz, Bashir Saif, Anila Butt also ran for the vice-president. Irfan Basra, with 1,611, was elected vice president on the Model Town seat, Zameer Jhedo Shahid Mehmood Bhatti recived 1,347 and 1,342 votes, respectively. Kamran Bashir Mughal (1,900 votes) and Nadeem Chaudhry (1,742 votes) were elected general secretaries. Chaudhry Saleem Ladhi, Hafiz Naeem Chaudhary and Hafiz Rashid Siddique were there other candidates in that race.  Shaikh Kashif recieved 2,449 votes and was elected joint secretary and Fazila Farheen Rana was elected finance secretary receiving 2,902 votes.

The Arain and Rajput clans, as well as the Peoples Lawyer Forum, had put their weight behind Qureshi. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Mian Asrarul Haq, Pakistan Bar Counsel Chairman Executive Burhan Muazam Malik, Pakistan Bar Council Members Ahsan Bhoon, Lahore High Court Bar Association President Shahram Sarwar, former LBA presidents Shehzad Hassan Shaikh, Sajid Bashir and the Jutt Group also supported the winning candidate.

Tight security arrangements were made at the Sessions Court. Outsiders were not permitted to enter the premises.

Celebration erupted among supporters when the official results were declared. Qureshi vowed to work for the welfare of the legal fraternity and strengthen the relationship between the bar and the bench.

The Election Board Chairman Chaudhary Imran Masood said that around 4,610 votes had been cast out of a of total 12,100 votes. He said seven booths, one for women and six for men, had been set up.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2013.