HYDERABAD: This year’s election of High Court Bar Association’s (HCBA) Hyderabad chapter has become an exciting affair with old friends contesting against each other and a candidate who had previously won presidential slot jumping into the fray once again.

HCBA election, which was now rescheduled for Feb 3, was postponed earlier amid reports that the present body headed by Ayaz Tunio wanted to stay beyond its tenure but Pakistan Bar Council put its foot down and announced that election be held on Feb 3 in accordance with the voter lists cleared by Sindh Bar Council (SBC).

The very short time forced candidates to put their electioneering in the fast gear and at the eleventh hour formation of alliances was seen with Nisar Durrani, a former advocate general of Sindh opting for a combination with Mumtaz Leghari as his general secretary and Ghulamullah Chang, ex-HCBA president, joining hands with Mir Mangrio, who was contesting as general secretary.

Presidential candidate Tunio has formed his panel with Ishrat Lohar as general secretary, Wasim Shah as vice president and Noorul Amin Sipyo as joint secretary.

Lohar, formerly with Nisar Durrani, left his camp and announced his support for Tunio after what he said his failure to bring about rapprochement between Tunio and Durrani. Durrani-Leghari combination, some say, is planning to capitalise on a certain group of voters.

Split in Nisar Durrani and Ayaz Tunio – who have been working together since 2007’s famous lawyers movement for reinstatement of judges deposed by Gen Musharraf in March 2007 – took place after both decided to contest elections for the presidential slot. Even Sindh law minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar had brought his influence to bear on the candidates to persuade them to unite.

“A series of negotiations and talks were held again to forge alliance between the two so that Nisar-Ayaz group may remain intact to avert the votes being spoiled to the advantage of the third candidate but in vain. So I decided to go with Ayaz,” said Ishrat Ali Lohar.

Ayaz Tunio insists he wants to contest polls this time again to pursue issue of ongoing development projects like parking area, auditorium in Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit bench and fixation of cost of land for lawyers’ society. He believes fate of these works will hang in the balance in his absence. “I am pursuing these projects and engaged at different levels with the government to push them and anyone other than me will find it difficult to carry from where I have left,” he said. He said: “Proposal for a hostel on 10 acres is also in the pipeline”. Tunio remains unimpressed by implications of his breakup with Durrani and formation of two alliances in present elections.

“Durrani will not harm but benefit me. I will get voters from those friends who were not happy with him. Ghulamullah Chang is not a serious threat,” he said.

Nisar Durrani disagrees with Ayaz and contends that projects’ continuity or completion cannot be linked with presence of a particular bar representative as these are government’s projects for the bar which will continue regardless of which individual heads the bar. “Will someone stay in office if projects continue for 20 years?” he asks in a lighter vein.

Actually, he said, relation between bar and bench was more important. “Today, there is no coordination between the bar and the bench. Board of cases in high court is discharged regularly. Urgency applications and backlog of cases to be taken up by the court are important issues,” he said. He said that te hprojects in question were initiated when he was HCBA president with Tunio as general secretary.

Lawyers like Sajjad Ahmed Chandio view electoral politics of the bar in different perspective. “It rather has become a sort of investment. Candidates get voters’ fee cleared. If election is delayed for two to three years the amount of fee that runs into thousands of rupees keeps increasing accordingly,” he claimed. He said that these candidates after becoming bar representatives tended to take advantage of their positions. The contesting candidates were seen accompanying law minister making announcements of financial assistance for bars connected with HCBA.

“This is just a tip of the iceberg and shows how the government influences bar election,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2018