SCBA elects first woman chief

Eminent lawyer and political activist Asma Jahangir has been elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.


Zeeshan Mujahid/rana Tanveer October 28, 2010

LAHORE/KARACHI: Eminent lawyer and political activist Asma Jahangir has been elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday after securing a lead of 41 votes over her closest competitor, securing 835 votes against 794 votes bagged by Ahmed Awais. The third contestant, Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry, got 128 votes.

Polling was conducted in eight stations – Lahore, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Multan, Peshawar, Bahawalpur, Karachi and Quetta. Jahangir won from Abbottabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta. In Lahore, Jahangir got 419 votes against 409 votes of Awais.

Although official results will be announced on October 30, Jahangir’s supporters danced to the drumbeat outside the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry to celebrate her victory. She is the first woman to be elected the SCBA president.

“I have defeated elements who, in the name of rule of law, are trying to accomplish their vested interests,” Jahangir said, after her victory was announced. Jahangir’s panel also secured a clean-sweep victory in the SCBA polls.

A supporter of balance, Jahangir said that all institutions should perform within their own ambit. “The bar will criticise the government if it does (something) wrong and the judiciary would also face the same criticism if it passes controversial judgments,” she said.

“We will not allow the bar to become a representative of judges,” she said.

Jahangir rubbished the impression that she was a government-backed candidate, saying that her main opponent had won from Multan.

Sindh

In Sindh, Jahangir secured 50 per cent of the votes cast in Karachi and won by margin of seven votes against Awais, who won 107 votes. Chaudhry received just five votes. The total number of registered voters in Sindh was 329.

Barrister Salahuddin, the honorary secretary of the Karachi Bar Association, said that all three candidates command equal respect. “If government quarters see her victory as beneficial to them, they must realise that she will remain a staunch supporter of the principle of an independent judiciary,” he said, congratulating the lawyers on Jahangir’s victory.

Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

In Quetta, Jahangir was declared winner with a lead of 42 votes, while runner-up Awais clinched 29 votes. Chaudhry got six votes. A total of 105 voters were registered in Balochistan, of which 77 turned up at the Balochistan High Court for the polling. In Peshawar, Jahangir led with 47 votes while Awais got 33 votes.

Vice-presidents

According to unofficial results, Jahanzaib Khan Jadoon has been elected the vice-president from Balochistan, Zubair Khalid from Punjab and Muhammad Arif Khan from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Qamar Zaman Qureshi has been elected as SCBA secretary. The winners belong to Jahangir’s panel. (With additional input from agencies)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

Syed A. Mateen | 13 years ago | Reply Asma's election as President SCBA will protect the rights of the women lawyers in the country.
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