Aitzaz, a PPP stalwart, had been twice elected in the past and was member of the outgoing National Assembly from this constituency. PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto had awarded PPP ticket to Aitezaz, but their relations had been cold since March 9, 2007.
Analysts said Benazir had not approved Aitzaz's leading role in the Lawyers Movement for reinstatement of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. Aitzaz, an articulate legal mind, was Justice Chaudhry's lead counsel in his legal war against President Musharraf that raged from March to July 2007.
He was shot to international stardom when he won his life's most difficult case. The 13-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday accepted his arguments and restored the Chief Justice by a majority of 10 to three.
The 1,600 SCBA members elected Aitezaz as its President on October 27, 2007 almost unanimously to honour its one of the most courageous, brilliant and illustrious members. Aitzaz, not only fought his legal battles in the court room, but was also in the vanguard of the lawyers pro-democracy movement.
He was one of the four most prominent and strategist leaders who successfully led the lawyers movement and galvanised the nation. The others were the then-SCBA president Munir A Malik, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Ali Ahmad Kurd and former justice and SCBA president Tariq Mahmood.
Presidential hopeful and former judge of the Supreme Court Wajihuddin Ahmad, who had challenged candidature of President Musharraf in uniform, also engaged Aitzaz Ahsan to plead his petition in the Supreme Court.
The 11-member bench of the Supreme Court is still hearing the petitions, when on November 3, when then-COAS General Musharraf imposed the emergency and promulgated the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), and sacked all judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts.
Aitezaz, along with his other three colleagues, was the first to be picked up by police on November 3, 2007 and put in jail. Aitzaz and Tariq Mahmood are now under house arrest, Munir A. Malik in hospital and Ali Ahmad Kurd in jail.
He has already made his intentions known to everyone after his release from the sub-jail in Lahore which are quite disturbing for many in the provincial government.
He plans to launch an agitation against the government by leading a 'judicial bus' for freedom and restoration of the pre-November 3 Judiciary. Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan has said the government would free Aitzaz, who has been interior minister from 1988 to -90, if he gives up his agitation plan.
It may be added that PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif went to Aitzaz's house last week to assure him of his party's support in the election. Nawaz described Aitzaz as a national hero because of his struggle for restoration of democracy, and said though he was a PPP candidate, the whole nation should support him.
The SCBA coordination committee for restoration of judiciary held a meeting at the Punjab Bar office to discuss various proposals to step up its movement. The meeting was attended by SCBA Vice-President Ghulam Nabi Bhatti, Secretary Mohammad Amin, Mrs Firdous Bhutt, LHCBA Vice-President Shahim Rehman, Secretary Lahore Bar Association, Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Asima Jehangir and retired justice Nasira Javed Iqbal. The participants of the meeting called upon the legal fraternity to boycott the election and withdraw their nomination papers.