GUJRAT: The Parvez Elahi camp in the Chaudhry family of Gujrat has dispelled any impression of a political reunion, making it clear that its policy of maintaining social distance will continue.
The impression was created after Chaudhry Salik Hussain praised Parvez Elahi’s five-year tenure as Punjab chief minister, describing him as the province’s ‘best-ever’ chief minister while criticising the incumbent CM.
Talking to Dawn, former federal minister and PTI leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, son of Parvez Elahi, said: ‘Our political pathways are not to become the same, and the policy of social distancing will continue.
Asked how his camp viewed Salik’s appreciation of his father’s tenure, Moonis, who has been in self-imposed exile for more than three years, said: ‘It does not warrant a comment on a person who has shown his true colours.
He alleged that the mandate of hisparents andthe partyhadbeen stolen in Gujrat and other parts of the country in the 2024 general elections through Form 47s to instal ‘fake representatives’.
Although PML-Q MNAChaudhry Hussain Elahi does not enjoy cordial relations with either of his cousins serving in the federal and Punjab governments, he has continued to strongly criticise the Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab government over the past few months for allegedly withholding funds for development schemes in his constituency.
He recently announced plans to file a petition in the Lahore High Court against the provincial government.
Even after his cousin Salik’s recent interview, Hussain Elahi continued to level corruption allegations against various government initiatives, including Suthra Punjab and the Model Villages programme.
It is learnt that former federal minister Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain will try to resolve the differences within the family and maintain contact with both the Shujaat and Parvez camps, believ-ing that the prolonged division could cause further political losses to all sides.
T h e C h a u d h r y s split into two factions follow-ing the no-confidence motion against then prime minister Imran Khan in April 2022.
PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain decided to support the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against Mr Khan and joined the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government, while the Parvez Elahi camp sided with the PTI along with Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain.
However, Wajahat Hussain and his son, MNA Hussain Elahi, later rejoined the PML-Q.
Meanwhile, Salik Hussain, son of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid chief, has served as a federal minister in Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinets for a second time, both before and after the February 2024 general elections. His elder brother, Chaudhry Shafay Hussain, has also served as Punjab’s minister for industries and commerce in the Maryam Nawaz cabinet.