ISLAMABAD: The capital lawyers on Saturday elected Raja Inam Ameen Minhas as President of Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA).

Minhas secured 679 votes against his opponent Barrister Shoaib Razzaq who could bag 475 votes.

Imtiaz Anwar Cheema returned Vice President by polling 680 votes and Umair Baloch won the seat of secretary by securing 588 votes whereas his rival candidate Imran Kayani bagged 577 votes.

Total registered voters of the IHCBA were 1,836 out of which 1,189 used their right to vote. The Election Committee rejected 12 votes.

Minhas has already served IHCBA as its first general secretary as he was elected in Feb 2009.

However, the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, after his reinstatement in March 2009, abolished the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as it was established soon after the proclamation of emergency by the then president Gen Pervez Musharraf on Nov 3, 2007.

However, Minhas along with the then President IHCBA Sajjad Afzal Cheema successfully lobbied for the IHC and held several meetings with the then prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, the opposition leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan, chairman constitutional reforms committee Mian Raza Rabbani and other law makers.

Subsequently, the constitutional reforms committee, which has already planned for a high court in Islamabad, agreed to amend the constitution for re-establishment of the IHC.

Ghulam Mustafa Kandwal was elected as President Lahore High Court Bar Association Rawalpindi division by defeating his opponents Tallat Zaidi and Saeed Yousaf Khan. Kandwal is also holding a seat in the Punjab Bar Council (PBC). He secured 400 votes.

Faisal Malik became secretary of the bar as he got 721 votes against his opponent Tasleem Abbasi who took 400 votes.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2019