There are many reasons to celebrate Asma Jehangir's election to the office of president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Without prejudice to class, colour, religion or political creed she has consistently fought for democracy, human rights, rule of law and the entitlement of Pakistan's underprivileged. She fought for all this as an individual and in an institutional context both within and outside Pakistan.

She has believed in tolerance and also lived by it. Her liberal views made her believe in debate. Forever ready to engage people of any ideological orientation, Asma has always understood the rationale for and the value of debate and tolerance, without prejudice to any ideological or institutional orientation. She has never demanded that only people of her choosing debate with her on TV.

Today Asma appears before the Supreme Court petitioning for the rights of missing persons, irrespective of their ideological affiliation. A strong opponent of the Taliban, Asma has nevertheless continued to question the conduct of the army in Swat and the tribal areas from the standpoint of human-rights violations.

As a firm believer in democracy, Asma has consistently opposed martial law regimes and strongly criticised political exclusion and marginalisation of people from Balochistan and Sindh. She stood up for minorities and was at the forefront of Pakistan's brave women who stood up against the military man with a diabolical political agenda, which included reducing the status of women and the legalised persecution of minorities, the fanning of sectarian hatred, etc.

Asma's achievements are hard to summarise, but she is a courageous, committed and honest woman — indeed the conscience of Pakistan. A trailblazer in much that she has done, learning of course from those who fought before her, and indeed acknowledging people like I.A. Rahman and the late Nizar Osmani with grace and humility. She was in the forefront of questioning the military definition of national security when many of us saw national security in narrower terms.

Much of the old wisdom promoted by the establishment and supported by mandarins in the political class, the media and academia, has been lost in the face of Pakistan's crisis-ridden context. ​We are paying the wages of dehumanisation at the ideological, material and intellectual level of those whose fundamental rights the state and executive is bound to protect.

But these are facts that everyone now acknowledges, as Asma accepts her challenge and mandate is different. She becomes the president of the SCBA at a time when relations between the bench and bar have become disturbingly close — indeed, destructively close. She will have to lead a graceful and non-confrontationalist, yet firm, pull back.

This will contribute to the elimination of inefficiency, incapacity and corruption in the Pakistani judicial institutions.

Asma's victory is the victory of that school of thought which does not believe in lawyers being the foot soldiers of the bench. They are not there to ensure that the SC's judgments are implemented. Equally, under Asma the SCBA will not give itself the task of ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

Instead, the SCBA will focus on its actual mandate — i.e. ensuring that the legal fraternity adheres to the highest ethical standards in the performance of its role in administration of justice.

Asma's task will not be easy. Her victory came with a narrow margin. Those who believe they are the judiciary's foot soldiers will still continue in that vein. Asma's challenge will be to lead lawyers towards a non-anarchical and non partisan professionalism and to remind the judiciary of its own goal; ensuring that there is a level playing field when it comes to applying the law.

No favour should be shown to any position or institution. Equally, the SCBA will have to remind the executive and the presidency that the law minister and the law ministry do not mess around with the law. Indeed, they uphold the law in the highest tradition of a democratic society. Asma's voice will carry weight, allowing her to spell out the correct place of the parliament, executive and judiciary within Pakistan's constitutional framework.

As the president of the SCBA, the mettle of this homegrown lawyer, human-rights activist and the conscience of Pakistan will be put to the test.

Nasim Zehra is a writer on security issues.