SARGODHA, Jan 5: The Sargodha District Bar Association president and secretary-general have failed to retain the positions they coveted and for which they tried to cash in on their participation in strikes and arrests.

Shams Naveed Cheema has replaced Malik Muhammad Afzal Farooka as the DBA president by a margin of 71 votes and Babar Ali Baloch has been elected secretary-general, defeating Malik Nasrullah Awan by a margin of 363 votes. Anwarul Hassan Qureshi was elected finance secretary (a lead of 53 votes) and all other office-holders were elected unopposed. As many as 866 votes were cast.

One-on-one contest for the top three slots was the notable feature of the elections the results of which were announced on Saturday evening. Malik Afzal and Malik Nasrullah, the outgoing leaders, tried to win sympathy votes by convincing the electorate that they spared no pains in actively participating in the recent strikes of lawyers and even faced arrests.

They demanded that the voters award them the second term in recognition of their contributions to further the community’s cause, but their entreaties hardly won them the required support.

The president-elect pledged to continue struggle against the country’s dictatorial rule and said their movement would continue until the revival of the deposed judiciary and democracy.

Secretary-General Babar Baloch is a son of Tassaduq Husain Baloch, the Tehrik–i-Istiqlal Pakistan secretary-general.