07 February 2005	Monday	27 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Feb 6: The Punjab Bar Council is due to elect its vice-chairperson, executive committee chairperson and 15 other committees on Monday (today) in a situation where the major alliance faces problems because of defections and emergence of new groups.

The major alliance of the groups headed by Senator Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa and Pervez Inayat Malik, Chaudhry Mohammad Wahla and Mohammad Ramzan Chaudhry and Mohammad Akram Sheikh appeared poised to sweep the indirect poll (being held today) soon after the elections some seven weeks ago.

The Khosa group claimed to have won some 28 seats, the Wahla group between 18 and 20 and Akram Sheikh also had a few in the house. But the new groups, carved primarily from these groups, now threaten their hitherto leadership.

The 'defections' are led by Chaudhry Tanvirur Rehman Randhawa, the sitting VC, executive chairperson Pir Mohammad Masood Chishti and Tahir Mahmood Mufti from Bahawalpur. Mr Mufti himself presented himself as a candidate for the vice-chairperson's office.

The Khosa also suffered a setback in the south Punjab when more or less all the members from there joined hands with the sole intention of bargaining for the same office without identifying a candidate. Their number is said to be 23. The PPP senator in the early days after elections had claimed that they would support him en bloc. However, the senator's son, Khurram Latif Khosa, has not hidden his aspiration for the coveted office and this reason may have played a role in the emergence of a united south Punjab group.

Another difficulty for the Wahla group and the alliance is that its supporter Chaudhry Mohammad Azhar from Sialkot is pressing the leaders to nominate him. Azhar's aspiration may not materialise because of the election strategy under which the Wahla group wants the office to be filled with a candidate from south Punjab and executive chairperson from Rawalpindi. The strategy was evolved at a lunch reception hosted by Mohammad Yasin Sohal where, Sohail's brother Ramzan Chaudhry said, 35 PBC members turned up on Sunday.

As for the Hamid Khan group, it announced the candidature of Mohammad Asghar Gill from Lahore for vice-chairperson at a very early stage and also gave him the mandate to select a chairperson executive committee on his own. The group's early announcement was aimed at making an ethnic appeal to the council members. However, the group may use its candidate as a bargaining chip because it certainly has swelled its support to about 25.

Nevertheless, the alliance is expected to still manage to win both the major offices if certain unforeseen factors do not emerge at the eleventh hour. But its margin of victory is certainly going to be reduced. The office of the vice-chairperson is likely to go to south Punjab, either Multan or Bahawalpur.