City lawyers have started campaigning for the annual elections of the Lahore High Court bar Association (LHBCA) two months ahead of the elections while several candidates are trying to get ‘group nomination tickets’ from pro-judiciary and pro-government factions of the community to win the presidential seat in the bar.
However, there is still confusion regarding the names of the candidates approved for the presidential seat as many candidates were claiming to have gotten the approval of either the pro-judiciary professional group of Hamid or the pro-PPP Asma Jahangir and Babar Awan group.
Three candidates, Syed Muhammad Shah, Raja Javed Iqbal and Shafqaat Chohan, claimed to be nominated from the Hamid Khan group, while two candidates, Ch Muhammad Naeem and Shehram Sarwar, asserted they had been fielded by the PPP lawyers’ group. Advocate Aslam Butter is contesting the bar elections as an independent candidate. As these two groups play a pivotal role in the bar elections, candidates are lobbying to get the ‘supporting nod’ from the leaders of their respective groups.
It had been reported that Ch Muhammad Naeem had surrendered in favour of Shehram Sarwar and that the Hamid Khan group will nominate Aslam Butter as its candidate to defect Shehram Sarwar. However, no formal announcement has been yet been made by the two groups regarding their nominated causing confusion among the voters.
Aslam Butter won the bar elections in 1990-91 as an independent candidate. He changed the bar’s name from district bar association (DBA) to Lahore Bar association (LBA) and took many steps for lawyers’ welfare, including providing financial aid to ill lawyers, and orphans. Talking to Pakistan Today, Aslam Butter said he had been in the community for the last 30 years and as LBA president he had proved that he could deliver. He said in his previous term, he started life membership scheme which was availed by 750 lawyers. He initiated 11 special tribunals including income tax tribunal, and banking courts in Lahore and provided representation to Model Town bar and Cantt bar in the LBA cabinet.
LHC moved against CNG load shedding: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday adjourned hearing of a petition challenging the three-day weekly load shedding of CNG in Punjab.
The All Pakistan CNG Association filed the petition submitting that the government had no jurisdiction to order load shedding. It said that not only the public but families associated with the CNG business were facing great difficulties and financial loss. The association requested the court to set aside the three-day weekly load shedding of CNG by declaring it as unconstitutional and violation of fundamental rights of citizens. The petitioner’s counsel sought permission from the court to add more government functionaries as party in the petition. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah accepted the petition and asked the counsel to file the amended petition by December 12.