Independent Group 4, Professionals 0
The unshakable spirit of unity and the degree of endurance displayed by the lawyer community against the Musharraf dictatorship which severely weakened his position was rightly applauded both at home and abroad. But after his ouster by the political forces, cracks soon appeared among the black coats over the persona and professional attitudes of the restored chief justice. Soon these deepened into public spats between the Independent group, led by human rights activist Asma Jahangir and the Professionals of the Hamid Khan group. The prestigious Supreme Court Bar Association and the other Bar elections are now fought over primarily between these two sides and on Thursday the Independents clinched their fourth straight win in the 2013-14 round over their rivals in a closely contested affair. Kamran Murtaza triumphed over the Professional group’s candidate Amanullah Kanrani as the new president by 1,032 votes to 874. The slot of SCBA secretary was also won by the Independent group’s Asif Mahmood Cheema with 913 votes. Rana Naeem Sarwar was the Professional group’s only representative in the Bar’s new cabinet.
Incidently most of the leading lights of the lawyers’ movement have since veered towards the stance of the Independents group on various issues of the legal fraternity such as the procedure of the appointment of judges, the somewhat excessive suo moto notices and according to some politically affiliated lawyers, even some hint of partiality in the fast-tracking of certain cases and either slow movement or ignoring of others. Speaking on his agenda and vision after his victory, Murtaza said he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Asma Jahangir and Yasin Azad for the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law. He cast some doubt on the appointment of judges in the Balochistan High Court and suggested that they had not been made on merit. The new SCBA president also aired his opinion that the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should not seek extension in his tenure which expires in December this year.
The Bar’s two warring groups need to end their futile feuding and turn their crusading zeal to the common cause of making justice affordable to all, ending the universal corruption in the lower judiciary, and above all, ensuring that the securing of justice does not take up a mortal life span or more, as is unfortunately the case at present. The hopes and expectations of the people caught up in endless litigation also rest in their hands.