Amjad Shah Wins SCBA Presidency in Unofficial Results
Syed Amjad Shah has won the presidency of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in the body’s annual elections, according to unofficial results reported on Thursday, October 29. Shah, the candidate of the Independent Group led by Ahsan Bhoon, defeated Sardar Aman Khan of the Professional Group.
The nationwide count reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) put Shah ahead by 1,322 votes to 791, with results received from 10 of the 13 polling stations across the country. The final announcement will follow once the electoral process is complete, so the result remains unofficial for now.
The Express Tribune reported the Lahore count separately, where Shah secured 644 votes against 400 for Aman Khan. In Islamabad, Shah polled 355 votes to Aman Khan’s 264, while in Multan he led by 127 votes to 116. The separate city figures explain why different reports have carried different totals: they cover different stages and different stations of the same count.
Amjad Shah SCBA president: how the result took shape
Polling for the SCBA annual elections for 2026-27 took place at stations across the country, and counting continued into Thursday evening. The Independent Group, led by Bhoon, backed Shah for the top post, while the Professional Group fielded Aman Khan.
The general secretary contest was closer. APP reported that Muhammad Arif Awan narrowly won that race, although full details of the remaining office-bearers were still coming in as stations reported.
Shah thanked the legal community for what he described as a heavy mandate. His camp presented the outcome as a vote of confidence in the Independent Group’s work for lawyers, a point the group’s leaders repeated in their own statements after the count.
Shehbaz Sharif congratulates the Independent Group
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the Independent Group on its victory and extended special felicitations to its leaders, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Ahsan Bhoon. He also congratulated Shah and the other office-bearers and wished them well in their new roles.
The prime minister said the result reflected the legal fraternity’s confidence in the government’s policies and its stance on law and justice. He said the government had always regarded lawyers as an important partner in the reform process and would continue to do so.
Tarar issued a separate statement congratulating Shah and the group’s newly elected panel. He said the group’s continued electoral success reflected the legal community’s confidence in Bhoon’s leadership and in its work for lawyers’ welfare, the dignity of bar associations and the supremacy of law. He expressed hope that the new leadership would keep playing a constructive role in strengthening the justice system.
The prime minister added that he hoped Shah and his team would further strengthen cooperation between the government and the legal fraternity in advancing the rule of law and justice in the country.
What the SCBA presidency involves
The SCBA represents lawyers who practise before the Supreme Court, and its president speaks for that body in matters concerning the superior judiciary, the bar and the legal profession. The annual election is one of the most closely watched contests in the legal community because the bar’s leadership regularly engages with the government and the courts on judicial affairs.
That context matters here. The result has arrived at a time of open debate about the judiciary, including the recent resignation of a Lahore High Court judge who cited executive control over the judiciary. Feature Pakistan reported on Justice Kayani’s resignation and on the Supreme Court’s questions over DNA evidence in criminal cases, both of which show how closely the bar, the bench and the government are watching each other.
The bar’s own recent history also frames the result. The legal community has spent much of October debating court proceedings and the treatment of lawyers and activists, including the 10-year sentences handed to Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, which Feature Pakistan covered in its report on the ATC verdict. A new SCBA president takes office against that background, with expectations from both the government and the profession.
