GUJRAT: What began as a tiff between a federal minister and a provincial chief minister has apparently re-ignited the political family feud among the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, whose various members have been drawn into the latest war of words between the two coalition partners, PML-N and PML-Q.
The latest salvo was fired by PML-Q MNA Chaudhry Hussain Elahi, who echoed his cousin Chaudhry Salik Hussain’s criticism of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over alleged corruption and a discriminatory approach in the allocation of development funds for various constituencies.
Speaking at a recent public gathering at Qila Islam Nagar near Tanda, Hussain Elahi accused the incumbent chief minister of blocking uplift funds for schemes launched during the tenure of former CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in 2022.
He claimed that the provincial government had spent Rs11 billion on a plane for the chief minister, but could not release Rs3bn earmarked for the completion of ongoing development schemes in his constituency.
He questioned whether the purchase of a plane was more important than the completion of public welfare schemes, alleging that only Lahore’s development seemed to be the rulers’ priority, while the rest of the province was being ignored.
The tiff between the Punjab chief minister and the federal minister for overseas Pakistanis was sparked by remarks the latter made during a television appearance earlier this month, when he lavished praise on former CM Parvez Elahi and took a swipe at the incumbent provincial chief executive.
In response, CM Maryam had challenged Chaudhry Salik Hussain to prove his claims and sent him a legal notice.
‘If you have evidence, bring it forth otherwise I will drag you to court,’ she said. She also asked him why he remained a minister in a government that he considered corrupt.
At the time, she maintained that the PML-Q leader’s actual grouse was neither a matter of corruption nor progress. The issue, she said, was that she changed the deputy commissioner (DC) of Gujrat a few days ago whereas Salik had wanted a DC of his choice to be appointed.
Gujrat’s problems Recalling CM Maryam’s legal threats, Chaudhry Hussain Elahi said: ‘Let me tell her that I will drag the whole Punjab government into court, the people of Gujrat are never scared of going to court.
He said the CM claimed to have spent Rs12bn for Gujrat city, but the people knew very wellwhat the situation in the city was, despite these claims. A number of crucial roads in his constituency had remained dilapidated or incomplete for the last four years, he maintained.
He alleged the whole province knew about corruption in the Suthra Punjab and Model Village projects, adding that the rulers would have to account for their misdeeds.
Speaking on the occasion, his father Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain the younger brother of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat also praised the tenure of Parvez Elahi, recalling the public welfare schemes launched under his stewardship.
Responding to these latest remarks, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that the development initiatives being undertaken by CM Maryam’s administration across Punjab were causing ‘considerable discomfort to certain political elements’. Sharing a clip of Hussain’s speech on X, Ms Bokhari said that those who had failed to change the conditions of Gujrat despite holding high public office for years, were now criticising Lahore ‘without any shame’.
Family ties The political allegiances of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat are currently split between different camps. Even though they belong to the same party, PML-Q MNA Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain and his sons Hussain and Musa Elahi are not on very good terms with the sons of party elder Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Salik and Shafay both of whom have been members of the federal and provincial cabinet, respectively, for two-and-a-half years.
Moreover, the PTI-aligned Parvez Elahi camp is also annoyed with Wajahat et al, as Musa secured the Punjab Assembly seat from Kunjah the same seat Parvez Elahi had won at least eight times since 1985.
In recent speeches, however, Wajahat and his sons have seemingly gone soft on their rivals, creating the impression that some sort of reconciliation was on the cards.
However, Parvez’s son Moonis has dispelled the impression of a possible ‘family reunion’, saying that his camp would continue their ‘policy of social distancing’ with the scions of Shujaat.
Taking to X on Monday, Moonis directly named the Chaudhry Wajahat camp, saying that his children were ‘making all this noise’ because his brother Chaudhry Shujaat’s children had ‘kept everything for themselves’, leaving them without any ministerial portfolios.
‘Had the PML-N also made them ministers, they too would have been sitting happily today,’ he tweeted.
Zulgernain Tahir in Lahore also contributed to this report