"Dear friends,

I am a former President of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA). I was elected for the year 2007-8 and I led the lawyers' movement in Lahore during that year.

I was disappointed to learn that someone is spreading false rumours and disinformation about the Professional Group of lawyers, its candidates and its head, Mr. Hamid Khan. Let me put the facts straight.

I was the nominee of the Professional Group when elected in 2007. Mr. Manzoor Qadir, the present President LBA was also nominee of Professional Group and last year he defeated Mr. Tariq Javed Chaudhry who was then the nominee of Mr. Latif Khosa (present Attorney General) and Malik Qayyum (former Attorney General). He is even now the nominee of Mr. Latif Khosa and Malik Qayyum and it is common knowledge that they are totally opposed to the lawyers' movement.

The Professional Group has provided leadership to LBA and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) which has sustained the movement in Lahore and throughout Punjab . The present President of LHCBA Mr. Anwar Kamal was also nominee of the Professional Group and he has played an excellent role in the lawyers' movement. The present nominee of the Professional Group for President LHCBA is Justice ® Shahid Siddiqi who refused to take oath of PCO on November 3, 2007.

The nominee of Professional Group for President LBA is Rana Zia Abdur Rahman. He is a man of integrity and commitment and if elected he will carry forward the lawyers' movement in Lahore as successor to Manzoor Qadir and I. He is supported by the lawyers of those political parties who are with the movement, particularly PML(N), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

Please do not be distracted by false propaganda being spread against Professional Group and its leader, Mr. Hamid Khan.

Sincerely,

Syed Muhammad Shah
(Former President LBA 2007-8)"

[syedmuhammadshah2003@yahoo.com]