LARKANA, July 12: A controversy over the elections of the District Bar Association (DBA) of Larkana has deepened with Babu Sarfraz Jatoi claiming himself to be its president and the Sindh Bar Council (SBC) declaring his nomination/selection illegal.

According to Mr Jatoi, a general body was held under the chairmanship of a senior lawyer, Ali Nawaz Ghanghro on June 25, during which a new body of the DBA was announced.

The major reason for the controversy is reported to be delay in holding of election.

A senior lawyer, Shamsuddin Abbasi, said that last elections of the DBA were held in 2007 through which

Ayaz Soomro and Abdul Hamid Bhurgari were elected president and general secretary respectively. Since then the same body was in office, he added.

When asked about SBC circular issued by its secretary G.A Bhangar on July 11, he showed his unawareness saying that Mr Bhangar, being the employee of SBC, had no authority to issue such a circular.

“The body of the DBA elected on June 25 would remain intact and the circular would be challenged,” said Mr Jatoi.

The SBC in its circular had said that the appeal committee of Sindh chapter of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) had directed the secretary of the SBC to prepare separate roll/lists of the members of both the district bar associations of Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot with separate ledger numbers of each member at the earliest.

“After completion of this exercise the final list for both the districts should be sent to this committee latest by September 10. The committee would then take an appropriate decision in the matter before announcement of the schedule of election of both the district bar associations.”

The SBC in the light of above decision had asked the presidents of the respective bar association for preparing such lists.

The circular further said that under the circumstances the selection/nomination of advocates for various offices of Larkana DBA has no legal sanctity, as such the previous elected body is still in existence till the next election of the bar.

When contacted, Mr Bhurgari said that DBA vice-president Qadir Bakhsh Bhatti and he himself had informed Pakistan Bar Council and Sindh Bar Council about the development of 25 June.

The SBC had sent the circular to the district and session judges of Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot, chairman appeal committee (Sindh) of Pakistan Bar Council, the secretary of the PBC, Asif Soomro and Ayaz Soomro, members of the SBC, president and general secretaries of High Court Bar Association's different chapters and DBA of Larkana.

Mr Bhatti said that elections of the DBA in the light of a decision of the PBC were scheduled to be held on June 25. But through a letter to the district and session judge Larkana on June 16, the PBC had postponed the elections.

But Mr Jatoi and his supporters sat together on the same day and elected new body which they do not recognise, Mr Bhatti added.