The annual elections for the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) have begun, with polling taking place across high court and circuit benches nationwide.
Key candidates from the Asma Jahangir and Hamid Khan groups are contesting for prominent positions, including president, secretary, and vice president.
Apart from the central cabinet, there will be competition for the vice president from all four provinces. Executive members will also be elected from all the provinces.
A total of 4,021 lawyers will cast their votes, with 516 voters from Karachi participating at the New Bar Room of the Sindh High Court. Polling will continue from 9am to 5pm in Karachi, while in Lahore, voting is scheduled from 8:30am to 5pm, where the highest number of voters, 1,014, are registered.
A total of 17 candidates are vying for five slots of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
In the race for president, Mian Rauf of the Asma Jahangir Group is competing against Munir Ahmed Kakar from the Hamid Khan Group. For the post of general secretary, Malik Zahid Aslam Awan (Asma Jahangir Group) is up against Salman Manzoor (Hamid Khan Group).
Meanwhile, Chaudhry Tanveer and Mir Aurangzeb are vying for the role of finance secretary on behalf of the Asma Jahangir and Hamid Khan groups, respectively.
The SCBA election will also see lawyers selecting vice presidents and executive members for all provinces. In Sindh, candidates include Malik Khushal Khan Awan, Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi, and Yousuf Maulvi for the post of the provincial vice president. Executive member hopefuls for Sindh include Aamir Jameel Virk, Ahmad Ali Dewan, Naveedul Haq, and Rizwana Jameel.
Muhammad Aurangzeb Khan and Muhammad Zubair Hussain are vying for the seat of additional secretary.
In Lahore, Rana Bakhtiar and Rana Ghulam Sarwar face each other for the seat of Punjab vice president.
In Islamabad, the SCBA’s principal seat, 769 lawyers are eligible to vote. As the polls unfold, the competition between the Asma Jahangir and Hamid Khan groups remains a focal point, with high stakes for both factions in securing leadership positions within Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association.
