October 30, 2007	Tuesday	Shawwal 17, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: The newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan on Monday dumbfounded reporters by saying he had read about his party chief Benazir Bhutto felicitating him on his success in the newspapers and clarified that he had not received any telephone call from her.

“I have read in the newspapers that Benazir Bhutto has felicitated me on my election but I have not received any call from her,” Aitzaz Ahsan said when asked by mediapersons here at the Supreme Court about the reaction of the party high-ups on his landslide victory in Saturday’s election.

Mr Ahsan bagged a total of 1,039 votes while his rival, Barrister Zafarullah Khan of the Watan Party, could secure only 172 votes.

On Sunday, the PPP’s media office in Islamabad had issued a statement that chairperson PPP Benazir Bhutto had felicitated Barrister Ahsan on his election as the SCBA president.

Ms Bhutto’s spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar, when asked to comment, explained that no statement on Ms Bhutto’s behalf had ever been released without her approval.

He said, in her message of felicitation, Ms Bhutto had stated that she was happy that Mr Ahsan had won to continue the struggle for constitutionalism and the rule of law.

A tightlipped Mr Ahsan usually responded with a smile whenever he was asked by the media about his communication with his party chief during the period he was appearing before the Supreme Court to fight the case for the chief justice.

Mr Ahsan described his astounding success as a clear indication of Gen Musharraf’s defeat, explaining since the lawyers’ community represented all kinds of viewpoints and different religious, ethnic and provincial shades and that the victory in the elections, held from Khyber to Karachi, could be considered a microcosm and signal a trend for the coming general elections.

Despite huge funds and a great amount of influence exerted by the government, he had won the election, which was reflective of the fact that how unpopular Gen Musharraf had become.

“I see a wind of change and my victory is a correct indicator for the bureaucracy, the armed forces, political elements...,” Mr Ahsan observed.

ADDRESSES DBA: A constitutional wall has been erected around the 11-member bench of the Supreme Court hearing the petition of Justice (retired) Wajihuddin against the decision of the Election Commission approving the nomination papers of Gen Pervez Musharraf for the presidency.

This was stated by Barrister Ahsan while addressing the District Bar Association here on Monday.

He said the Constitution could not allow the re-election of Gen Musharraf as president in uniform and the sitting assemblies could not elect the president for the second time.

He said Gen Musharraf had obtained an exception for his election as president in uniform through the 17th Amendment but the office of the Army Chief was still in the shackles of the law.

Mr Ahsan said the president’s lawyers had been saying that the qualification Articles of the Constitution applied to the re-election of Gen Musharraf but the disqualification Articles did not.

He dismissed statements of the attorney general and some ministers that if the court’s decision came out against the government, martial law could be imposed in the country, as merely threats and the army was currently not in a position to impose it.

He said the lawyers’ struggle alone could not guarantee the independence of the judiciary until the judges themselves were independent in their decisions.

Mr Ahsan said the judges should not wait for any public protest rather they should undo all unconstitutional moves in accordance with the law.

Praising the contribution of Rawalpindi lawyers, he termed the huge reception given to the chief justice on March 28 as a trendsetter that had boosted their confidence and ignited their movement.

Speaking on the occasion, the Lahore High Court Bar Association President, Sardar Asmatullah, praised Mr Ahsan’s role in the chief justice case and his guidance to lawyers with sincerity.