LAHORE: The lawyers affiliated with the PML-N have a visible leaning towards the presidential candidate of the Hamid Khan-led Professional Group despite the legal wing of the party announcing its support for the Independent Group, famously known as the late Asma Jahangir group, in the election of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) on Feb 26.
The Professional Group has fielded Rana Asadullah Khan, the brother of PML-N MPA Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, as its candidate for the office of the president while Sardar Akbar Ali Dogar is the presidential candidate of the Independent Group.
Besides the PML-N lawyers, Mr Khan has got support from strong factions of the Insaf Lawyers Forum, Peoples Lawyers Forum and the lawyers from the Jamaat-i-Islami also.
Both presidential candidates are the former secretaries of the bar. Mr Khan held the office of the secretary in 2008 during the Gen Musharraf regime when the lawyers’ movement for restoration of the deposed judiciary was at its peak and he was at the forefront of the movement along with Anwar Kamal, the then president of the LHCBA.
Mr Dogar was elected as secretary in 2012. He is trying his luck for a second time for the presidential slot as he lost his previous election to Maqsood Buttar, the outgoing president, with a margin of 1,751 votes.
An experienced candidate, in the bar polls, is believed to have an edge over a fresh candidate, however, some political pundits argue the margin of Dogar’s defeat last year was huge.
They say that Mr Khan can exploit the easy victory of his group in the election of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) held last month when Rao Sami (Professional Group) was elected LBA president after defeating Farhad Ali Shah (Independent Group) with a margin of over 2,000 votes.
The lawyers’ wings of political parties play a vital role in the bar politics. The PML-N lawyers’ forum has been supporting the Independent Group, now led by sitting president of Supreme Court Bar Association Ahsan Bhoon, for many years under the leadership of its country’s head Naseer Ahmad Bhutta.
PML-N MNA and former law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan is among the prominent lawyers from the party backing Dogar. PML-N Senator Azam Nazir Tarar is a senior leader of the Independent Group.
A group of women lawyers, led by former LHCBA finance secretary Rabbiya Bajwa, also announced support for Mr Khan.
On the other hand, PML-N MNA Rana Tanvir, MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, MPA Subah Sadiq, MPA Barrister Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan and former provincial assembly speaker Rana Iqbal, Barrister Ahmad Ahsan Iqbal, the son of MNA Ahsan Iqbal, are openly supporting Asadullah Khan.
Some members of the forum have been issued show-cause notices for supporting Khan in violation of the group policy.
A faction of the Insaf Lawyers Forum, headed by Pakistan Bar Council’s (PBC) member Ishtiaq A Khan, a group of the Peoples Lawyers Forum, headed by former governor Sardar Latif Khosa, lawyers’ wing of Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Awami Party also announced support for Mr Khan.
However, a group of Insaf Lawyers’ Forum led by PTI Senator Syed Ali Zafar, the PML-Q lawyers’ wing, a faction of Peoples Lawyers Forum led by Abid Saqi, JUI-F’s senator Kamran Murtaza and majority of the PBC members are a part of the Independent Group.
Five candidates are vying for the post of vice president. They are Rana Muhammad Razzaq, Sohail Shafiq Chaudhry, Abdul Karim Khan, Adnan Tahir Khan and Mian Sardar Ali Ghumman.
Mian Shabbir Hussain, Mian Muhammad Irfan, Allah Bakhsh Leghari and Rai Usman Ahmad are running for the secretary’s slot.
Five candidates are in contest for the seat of finance secretary, including a woman lawyer. They are Falak Naz Gill, Shahrukh Shahbaz Warraich, Ahsan Sial, Rana Ali Akhtar Khan and Rizwan Mansha Jatt.
As many as 23,560 voters would cast their votes in the election.
The polling would be held from 9am to 5pm under the supervision of the election board’s chairman Mian Irfan Akram.
Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2022