October 29, 2021
LAHORE: Ahsan Bhoon of the Asma Jahangir Group won the election of the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) 2021-22 by a big margin, according to a The News report published Friday.
Bhoon polled 1,548 votes against his rival Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, who managed to get 920 votes, of the Hamid Khan-led Professional Group.
Under the rotation policy, this year president’s seat was given to Punjab.
In his victory speech, Bhoon pledged to defend the legal community, the supremacy of the Constitution and end division in the judiciary.
He also pledged to strengthen the country's democratic institutions.
Khawar Ikram Bhatti and Wasim Mumtaz Malik of Azad Group were elected vice president and secretary of Punjab, respectively.
Polling was held under the supervision of Election Chairman Afrasiab Khan, who will announce the official results in Islamabad on November 3.
In his congratulatory message Friday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry felicitated Ahsan Bhawan and all the elected bodies in the SCBA elections.
He claimed that the incumbent president had made the SCBA a tool of a few political parties.
“I hope you will restore the separate and independent identity of the Bar,” he added.
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif congratulated Bhoon on his victory. He wrote in a tweet that it was a good sign for the national struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution.
He said that the success of Asma Jahangir's Group was a sign of the determination of the legal community to never compromise on democratic principles.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif also tweeted that he congratulated the Asma Jahangir Group, its candidate Ahsan Bhoon and the panel on their victory in the bar elections.