LAHORE, Oct 16: With about two weeks left in annual elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association, both Mian Israrul Haq and Ahmad Awais have intensified their efforts to notch up the top slot.

Experts on bar politics foresee a tough contest between Mr Haq and Mr Awais as both enjoy good reputation and support among members of legal fraternity. The SCBA president’s slot would go to Punjab this year in line with the rotation policy for the bar’s top slot election.

Mr Awais is the candidate of Hamid Khan-led Professional Group of lawyers while the Democratic Independent Group is backing Mr Haq.

SCBA former president and human rights activist Asma Jahangir is among the lead campaigners for Mr Haq, who also enjoys backing of the bar’s president Mr Yasin Azad and PPP Senator and former federal law minister Babar Awan.

It is being expected that Mr Awan would not put his weight behind a candidate being supported by PPP quarters because of his ‘differences’ with the party leadership. However, Mr Awan’s close associate Ramzan Chaudhry stated that national politics had no effect on the politics of bar. Still some lawyers believe Babar Awan and his associates will ‘covertly’ support Mr Awais.

People’s Lawyers Forum and the group led by Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, also Punjab governor, are also canvassing for the Independent Group.

Another PPP Senator and a prominent leader of lawyers’ movement, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, is as usual not taking active part in the SCBA election. Though his associates canvass for the Professional Group in the bar elections, Barrister Ahsan casts his vote without disclosing his choice. He had won his election to SCBA top slot as a Professional Group candidate.

Many other key figures in the legal fraternity, including former SCBA presidents Munir A Malik and Akram Sheikh are also supporting Professional Group candidate this year.

Meanwhile, two former bar presidents Ali Ahmad Kurd and Justice Tariq Mahmood (retired) are supporting Mr Haq. Two years back they had also openly canvassed for Ms Asma Jahangir who had won the president’s slot by defeating Mr Awais.

Interestingly, both Kurd and Mahmood had won their own elections from Professional Group platform during the Musharraf regime.

The Independent Group mainly comprises judges who were removed from office for taking oath under the controversial PCO and majority of those lawyers who are considered ‘pro-government’. However, during the last many elections of different bar associations it has been observed that the division between pro-judiciary and pro-government lawyers has gradually fizzled out.

Lawyers having affiliation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz are also supporting Mian Israrul Haq. PML-N Lawyers Forum Pakistan’s chief MNA Advocate Naseer Bhutta made a formal announcement in this regard. Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, his brother Rana Asadullah Khan (Lahore High Court Bar Association’s former secretary) and former president Anwar Kamal are also backing the Independent Group candidate.

A bar member, however, said the Professional Group was still trying to convince top PML-N leadership to secure support of the lawyers having affiliation with the party. The PML-N leadership had also some reservations on its lawyers’ wing decision to support a candidate (Mr Haq) who was from a group having sympathies for the PPP-led government, the bar member said and added that they also feared that Mr Awais might follow Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf’s agenda after winning the election. Professional Group’s head Hamid Khan is a central leader of PTI and Ahmad Awais is also an active member of the party. Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday (retired) was playing a key role in the negotiations with PML-N lawyers to convince them to support

Mr Awais. Other political stalwarts of legal fraternity who are backing Mr Haq include Ahsan Bhoon, Azam Nazir Tarar, Ramzan Chaudhry, Burhan Moazam Malik, Akhtar Hussain and Mian Abbas. They all are members of the Pakistan Bar Council. Famous figures of bar politics Latif Khan Afridi and Attique Shah from Peshawar and Ibrar Hasan from Karachi are also supporting Mr Haq.

Members of PBC who are campaigning for Ahmad Awais include Rasheed A Rizvi, Maqsood Buttar, Saeed Akhtar, Ayaz Zahoor, and Pir Kaleem Khurshid. Hamid Khan is also member of the PBC. Some retired judges, including Khalilur Rehman Ramday,

Wajihuddin Ahmad, Mian Allah Nawaz, Nasira Iqbal and Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui are also supporting the Professional Group candidate. Former Chief Justice Lahore High Court Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, however, is backing Mr Haq. Judicial Activism Panel’s chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique is also campaigning for Professional Group.

Though Biradri or clan has always been a key factor in the bar politics, Mr Haq despite belonging to the Arain clan enjoys support of many prominent members of Jutt clan this year.

Similarly, many of the members from Arain clan are supporting Mr Awais.

Mr Haq is contesting his first SCBA election, while he was twice elected as LHCBA president by defeating Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari in 2001 and Sabir Kaifi in 2006. He had lost his first election to LHCBA top slot to Pir Kaleem Khurshid of Professional Group in 2000. Haq is a senior bar member and known for the welfare work he did for the legal community during his tenures as LHCBA head rather for his contribution to national-level bar politics. He is also a member of the PBC.

On the other hand, Mr Awais is also a former president of LHCBA and has been on the forefront of lawyers’ movement for independent judiciary and ouster of Pervez Musharraf. He is trying his luck for second time as he had lost his first SCBA election to Ms Asma Jahangir. Barrister Zafarullah Khan is an independent candidate for the presidential slot.

As many as nine candidates are vying for four slots of SCBA vice president from all provinces. They are Muhammad Riaz Khan Swati and Abdullah Kakar from Balochistan, Jamal Khattak and Muhammad Arif Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Tahir Chaudhry and Rana Naeem Sarwar from Punjab while Abbas Ali, Ain-ud-Din Khan and Syed Jamil Ahmed from Sindh.

Javed Iqbal Raja and Muhammad Sohail Dar are contesting for one seat of secretary.

Abdul Majeed Khan, Fayaz Ahmed Rana and Muhammad Saleheen Mughal are in the run for one seat of additional secretary. Abdul Rashid Qari and Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Ghumman are contesting for one seat of finance secretary.

A total of 2,592 eligible voters will exercise their right to vote at nine polling stations across the country. Polling will be held on Oct 31 in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Abbotabad, Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur and Islamabad. However, Lahore would be a hub of the election activities as 70 per cent members of SCBA are enrolled in Punjab.