PESHAWAR, April 26: Advocate Safeerullah Khan was elected president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) on Saturday.

Mr Khan, enjoying support of an alliance of the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the National Awami Party Pakistan, defeated former senator of the Awami National Party, Qazi Mohammad Anwer, by 45 votes. He got 305 votes. Both had remained the presidents of the association twice.

Shahabuddin Burq of the PML (Quaid-i-Azam) defeated Abdullah Sani of the PML-N to get elected as vice-president. Mr Burq received 356 votes against Mr Sani’s 194.

Muzamil Khan of the PPP was elected as secretary-general. He got 319 votes whereas his rival, Ghulam Nabi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, received 209 votes.

Direct contest was held between lawyers affiliated with the ANP, the PML-Q and the MMA and those supported by the PML-N, the PPP and the NAPP.

For the post of joint secretary, Iltaf Ahmad of the MMA defeated Asad Kamal of the PPP by 109 votes. He secured 307 votes. Mohammad Habib Qureshi was elected treasurer by obtaining 311 votes against 206 of Mohammad Ali of the PML-N.

An independent candidate, Shehzad Gul, defeated Younas Jan of the MMA for the post of library secretary with a margin of 55 votes.

Of the 1,600 members, 679 were eligible to vote as the remaining had  not cleared their dues. Polling was held in Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan and Swat.

Hamid Shahzad, Liaqat Ale, S.M. Ilyas, Saeed Shah Bukhari and Akhter Munir were elected unopposed as executive council members.