Lawyers' face-off for LHCBA election today.

LAHORE -- The stage is set for the annual election of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) for 2021-22 today (Saturday) with the candidates of the two main rival groups - Professional and Independent - in the run for the slot of president.

Maqsood Buttar of the Hamid Khan-led Professional Group is trying his luck for the second time since last year he had lost the election against outgoing president Tahir Nasarullah Warraich.

This year, he faces Sardar Akbar Ali Dogar of the Independent Group, better known as the late Asma Jahangir Group. Dogar is a former secretary of the LHCBA and Buttar has been elected as a member of the Pakistan Bar Council in the past.

The lawyers' wings of the PPP, PTI and Jamat-i-Islami have announced support for Buttar while PML-N is backing Dogar.

Interestingly, Insaf Lawyers Forum's president Barrister Ali Zafar is affiliated with the Independent Group and the leaders of the Professional Group claim that the PTI's legal wing is fully supporting Mr Buttar. Zafar remained unavailable for his comments; however, Professional Group's senior member Chaudhry Ishtiaq A Khan confirmed the support of the ruling party's lawyers' wing.

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