Moonis Elahi

Moonis Elahi
Moonis Elahi is a Pakistani politician. He is the elder son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), nephew of Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and grandson of Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi (Late). Elahi was born on 12 April 1976 at Lahore. He studied at Lahore American School till 11th grade and from there he moved to the London American School. He then went on to pursue a degree in business from Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania, USA and graduated from there in 1999.


Background and Biography
Moonis Elahi was born in Lahore in April 1976. Moonis Elahi's political ancestry stems from both his maternal (grandfather Chaudhry Zahur Elahi and uncle Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain) and paternal side (father Chaudhry Parvez Elahi). After graduating from the Wharton School of Business in 1999, Moonis Elahi returned to Pakistan to begin his career in his family business.

Political career
Moonis Elahi took part in the general election held on 18 February 2008 for the first time and contested from two provincial constituencies. He was narrowly defeated from Lahore PP-152 and won with an overwhelming majority from his native seat PP-110 Gujrat.
Moonis Elahi appeared in Sessions Courts to face the trial.
On the 17th of March, 2011, Moonis Elahi voluntarily courted arrest in connection with the politically motivated NICL case. He is bravely fighting the false corruption charges brought up against him in the said case and he believes that truth will ultimately prevail. In a recent development the eight prosecution witnesses have also denied Moonis Elahi’s association with any of the allegations.

The NICL case Investigation Officer of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on being questioned by the court has also categorically stated that ‘no evidence against Moonis Elahi being privy anywhere in the NICL case surfaced during the investigation’.

A large number of discerning Pakistanis have developed a strong liking for Moonis Elahi for firstly his decision to return to Pakistan from London to seek justice especially when no extradition laws exist between Pakistan and England and he could have remained in London as a free person, secondly for his courage and fortitude and thirdly for his faith in the country’s legal system. They say that no other leader including the Sharif duo demonstrated these qualities of character.

Javed Hashmi


Arrest
Javed Hashmi
On 29 October 2003, he was arrested from Parliament Building on charges of inciting mutiny made by General Pervez Musharraf. Earlier, in a press conference on 20 October, 2003, he had read a letter that he received in mail, signed anonymously by some active military officers at Pakistan Army's Combatant Headquarter, known as The Generals Headquarter (GHQ), calling for an investigation into the corruption in the armed forces and criticizing the President and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf, and his relationship with the American President George W. Bush. His trial was held in the central Adiala Jail instead of a district and sessions court at the Lahore High Court, which raised doubts among human rights groups about its fairness. On 12 April 2004, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for inciting mutiny in the army, forgery, and defamation.

The verdict has widely been considered as a willful miscarriage of justice by the General Pervez Musharraf's Government. All opposition parties in Pakistan, including Pakistan Peoples Party of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and six party-alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), regarded the verdict to be politically motivated by the ruling junta with malicious intent, declaring him to be a political prisoner. In imprisonment he also wrote two books titled as "Haan, Main Baaghi Hoon!" (Yes, I am a 'Rebel!') and "takhta daar ke saaye tale" (Under the Stage's shadow). His book, "Yes, I am a 'Rebel'!", Hashmi clearly stated that he was jailed because he demanded a commission to be formed to investigate the Kargil issue, the restoration of democracy and opposed the Army’s role in politics, and Pakistan's geostrategy policy in central Asia and Europe.
On 3 August 2007, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry granted him bail after serving approximately three and a half years in prison. Javed Hashmi was released from the Central Jail Kotlakhpat in Lahore on 4 August 2007.
He was again placed under arrest at the declaration of a state of emergency on 3 November 2007.

Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani

Imprisonment
Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani was arrested on 11 February 2001, under the auspices of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an anti-corruption agency, set up by the military government in 1999, over charges that he misused his authority while he was Speaker of the National Assembly. Specifically, he was accused of hiring up to 600 people from among his constituents and placing them on the government's payroll. The NAB claimed that Gillani inflicted a loss of Rs 30 million annually on the national exchequer. He was convicted by an anti-corruption court formed by Musharraf and spent nearly six years in prison.

The legal proceedings were perceived by many as politically motivated; his party, the PPP, was in opposition to Musharraf, who had embarked on a campaign to coerce party members to switch sides. Thus his conviction by Musharraf-backed courts and subsequent prison sentence are seen as marks of loyalty within the PPP. His imprisonment was widely condemned by various individuals across the country, including Mushahid Hussain Syed, a senior leader of the PML-Q. He was released on 7 October 2006 from Adiala Jail, after spending more than five years in captivity.

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

Nawaz Sharif with his Mentor General Zia Ul Haq
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born on 25 December, 1949 is a Pakistani politician and business steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990-July 1993 and February 1997-October 1999. He currently served as the President of the Pakistan Muslim League (N-Wing). Before becoming the Prime minister, Sharif was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1985 to 1990 and embarked his political career under the military regime of President General Zia-ul-Haq.

He is a wealthy businessman and a conservative politician. His first term was shortened after the Pakistan Army pressured him to resign. In 1997, he was elected on for a second term by an overwhelming margin. During his second term, he notably ordered Pakistan's first nuclear tests in response to India's nuclear tests. He was ousted in an October 1999 military coup by Pervez Musharraf. He returned to Pakistan in late 2007 after eight years of exile.
He is a declining force in Pakistani politics ever since Wikileaks cables exposed his private opposition of the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his party's unpopular policies in the Punjab provincial government.

Early life and education

He was born in LahoreWest-Pakistan on December 25, 1949, a year after the nation's founding. He came from a family of scrap traders. His father and uncles had a small steel mill that is known as Ittefaq Steel Mills in Landa Bazar of Lahore before the creation of Pakistan.
He attended St. Anthony's High School at Lahore. However, he along with his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif later on attended Pakistan Railway High School, Moghalpura, Lahore. Both passed Matriculation from this school in 1964 and 1965 respectively. Nawaz Sharif got admission in the Government College University of Lahore. He obtained his B.A. degree, followed by another B.A. from the same institution in 1969. In 1970, Sharif then attended the Punjab University where he attained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Punjab University Law College, which is also in Lahore.

Business enterprise: Ittefaq Group
He is a joint owner of Ittefaq Group. Ittefaq Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in Pakistan. He helped establish the Ittefaq Islamic Academy in Lahore, where students receive religious instruction in addition to their secular training.
He and his cousins expanded their family iron foundry. They lost control of their business in the 1972 nationalization policies by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It was re-established in 1977 as Ittefaq Industries in Lahore. The business was returned after Sharif developed political links with Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan, and Chief of Army Staff General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, later President of Pakistan. By 1990, Ittefaq Industries was one of Pakistan's most affluent conglomerates, with more than $450 million in annual revenues, up from approximately $16 million in 1981. It included the country's largest private steel mill, Ittefaq Foundries (Pvt) Ltd, eight sugar mills, and four textile factories. Sharif's net worth is around US $4 billion. With upwards of hundred thousand employees, Ittefaq Group .However allegation persist that nawaz sharif engages in price fixing of sugar and other commodities.


Initial political career
He principally rose to public and political prominence as a staunch proponent of the military government of Chief Martial Law Administrator (designated himself as President) and Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq during the 1980s. He maintained an alliance with General Rahimuddin Khan, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. During his political career, Sharif also had close ties with ISI Director-Lieutenant-General (retired) Hamid Gul, who played a substantial role in the formation of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad- a conservative political alliance that supported Sharif.

Punjab Advisory Council
In 1981, he initially joined as a member of the Punjab Advisory Council under President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Shariff would also served as the Provincial Minister of Finance and Provincial Minister of Sports under the Provincial Government of Punjab Province

Chief Minister of Punjab
He served for two consecutive terms as Chief Minister of Punjab Province, the most populous province of Pakistan. (April 9, 1985 - May 31, 1988) From 1988 to August 1990, he became the Caretaker Chief Minister after Zia-ul-Haq dissolved the assemblies.

First term as Prime Minister (1990-93)
Sharif became the prime minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 as the head of IJI and succeeded Benazir Bhutto. He campaigned on a conservative platform and vowed to reduce government corruption. He focused on improving the nation's infrastructure and spurred the growth of digital telecommunication. He privatized government banks and opened the door for further industrial privatization. He legalized foreign money exchange to be transacted through private money exchangers. His privatization policies were continued by both Benazir Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf. Moreover he gave tasks to the Ministry of Religious Affairs to prepare reports and recommendations for steps taken for Islamization. He ensured the establishment of three committees.
Ittehad-e-bain-ul-Muslemeen
Nifaz-e-Shariat Committee
Islamic Welfare Committee
He believed in forming a Muslim Bloc by uniting all Central Asian Muslim Countries thus he extended the membership of ECO to all Central Asian Countries. Nawaz Sharif was pretty confident that he had majority in the assembly thus he ruled with considerable confidence. He had disputes with three successive army chiefs.  General Mirza Aslam Beg, General Asif Nawaz , General Abdul Waheed Kakar and with General Pervez Musharraf.

Co-operatives Societies Scandal
Sharif also lost support because of the co-operatives societies scandal. Co- operatives societies accept deposits from members and can legally make loans only to members for purposes that are to the benefit of the society and its members. However, mismanagement of these societies led to a collapse in which millions of Pakistanis lost money in 1992. In Sharif’s native Punjab 700,000 people mostly poor people lost all their savings when the states cooperatives societies went bankrupt. It was soon discovered that The society had granted billions of rupees to the Ittefaq group.

Parliamentary opposition (1993-96)
After the 1993 general elections, the Pakistan Peoples Party returned to power. Sharif conceded defeat and offered his full co-operation as Leader of the opposition but soon The PPP and PML-N again came at loggerheads. Benazir's government found it difficult to act effectively in the face of opposition from Sharif and The PML-N. They worked tirelessly to undermine her government. In 1994 Sharif began a "Train March" taking him from Karachi to Peshawar during which huge crowds listened to his critical speeches. Sharif played a major part in organizing strikes throughout Pakistan in September and October 1994. By 1996, the PPP had become unpopular because of there high levels of corruption which led to their ouster in October.

Second term as Prime Minister (1997-99)
In the 1997 General Elections The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) won a landslide victory in the elections. Sharif was sworn in as Prime Minister on 17 February to serve a non-consecutive second term.
In August 1997, he passed the controversial Anti-Terrorist Act which established Anti-Terrorism Courts. The Supreme Court later rendered the Act unconstitutional.

1998 Pakistan's nuclear tests
Pakistan's nuclear tests were an important turning point in his political career. In his first term, Sharif funded Pakistan's nuclear, missile and space programme, as well as allotted funds for the science research, particularly its extension to defence. Soon after Indian nuclear tests, Sharif vowed that his country would give a suitable reply to the Indians. When India tested its nuclear arsenal a second time, it caused a great alarm in Pakistan. On 15 May 1998, Sharif called and chaired a National Security Council meeting in Prime minister Secretariat. The discussions went on for a few hours and encompassed the financial, diplomatic, military, strategic and national security concerns. The meeting had two agendas: Firstly, whether or not Pakistan should carry out nuclear tests in order to respond to Indian’s nuclear tests? Secondly, if Pakistan does go ahead with the tests then which of the two organizations, PAEC or KRL, should carry out the tests?
Mushahid Hussain SyedMinister of Telecommunications, was the first person to propose the tests, while, Sartaj Aziz who was the Finance Minister that time, was the only person in the meeting who opposed the tests on financial grounds due to the economic recession, the low foreign exchange reserves of the country and the effect of inevitable economic sanctions which would be imposed on Pakistan if it carried out the tests. When it comes to voting, Sharif did not opposed nor proposed the tests. The remainder spoke in favor of conducting the tests.
Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan of Kahuta Research Laboratories equally presented their point of views, and approached for the permission from Sharif. The meeting concluded without any resolution of the two agenda points. On the morning of 17 May 1998, Sharif summoned Ishfaq Ahmad and asked him for his opinion on two points discussed on 15 May. Dr. Ahmed told the Prime Minister that the decision to test or not to test was that of the Government of Pakistan. Ahmad also acknowledged that PAEC was ready for the capability of carrying out the tests. Sharif then concluded that eyes of the world were focused on Pakistan and failure to conduct the tests would put the credibility of the Pakistan nuclear programme in doubt. Dr. Ahmad then said:“Mr. Prime Minister, take a decision, then I give you the guarantee of success." Sharif ordered PAEC to make preparation for the tests, but remain on stand-by for the final decision.
Pakistan carried out its successful nuclear tests on 28 May 1998 (codename Chagai-I), and on 30 May 1998 (codename Chagai-II, in response to the Indian detonation of five nuclear devices roughly two weeks before.
After weeks of anticipation, Pakistan surprised the world by conducting its own nuclear tests. Sharif proclaimed an emergency on the same day as these nuclear tests were conducted. All the foreign currency accounts in Pakistani banks were frozen to minimize the effects of economic sanctions. He put the Pakistan Armed Forces on high alert in order to defend country's nuclear installations. He justified the tests on national security grounds, as they demonstrated Pakistan's nuclear deterrent capabilities against an armed Indian nuclear program. Under his premiership, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and seventh nation to become a nuclear power.
In spite of the intense international criticism and the steady decline in foreign investment and trade, the nuclear tests were popular domestically and the Shariff's popularity and the PML (N)'s prestige rose in response.

Constitution Amendment
In late August 1998, he proposed a law to establish a legal system based on the Islamic principles. His proposal came a week after 10-year commemorations of the late President Zia ul-Haq. The Cabinet removed some of its controversial aspects. The National Assembly approved and passed the bill on 10 October 1998 by 151 votes to 16. However, the amendment failed to achieve two-thirds majority in the Senate. Weeks afterward, Sharif's government would suffer a military coup.

Relations with the military
During his second tenure, he removed General Karamat over the National Security Council disputes. He later had severe political confrontation with General Musharraf that resulted in a coup d'état which removed him from office.
At the end of General Wahid Kakar's three-year term in January 1996, General Jehangir Karamat was appointed Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army. His term was due to end on 9 January 1999. However, in October 1998 Sharif had a falling out with General Karamat over the latter’s advocacy of a "National Security Council". Sharif interpreted this move to be a conspiracy to return the military to a more active role in Pakistani politics. In October 1998, General Karamat resigned and Sharif promoted Lieutenant-General Pervez Musharraf, core-commander of the I Strike Corps that time, as 4-star general and appointed him as new Chief of Army Staff. Sharif then also appointed General Musharraf as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee despite Musharraf's lack of seniority to Admiral Bokhari. In protest, Admiral Fasih Bokhari resigned from his post as Chief of Naval Staff.

Military coup
On 12 October 1999, Sharif attempted to remove Pakistan Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf and appoint Ziauddin Butt in his place. Musharraf, who was in Sri Lanka, attempted to return through a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Sharif ordered Sindh IG Rana Maqbool to arrest of Chief of Army Staff and Musharraf.
He ordered the Karachi Airport to be sealed off to prevent the landing of the Musharraf's airliner fearing a coup d'état. Sharif ordered the plane to land at Nawabshah Airport. Musharraf contacted top Pakistan Army Generals who then took over the country and ousted Sharif's administration. Musharraf later assumed control of the government as Chief Executive.
Trial
The military placed him on trial for "kidnapping, attempted murder, hijacking and terrorism". The military court quickly convicted him and gave him a life sentence. Under an agreement facilitated by Saudi Arabia, Sharif was placed in exile for the next 10 years.

Imprisonment
Nawaz Sharif in Prison
Nawaz Sharif was imprisoned from 14th October 1999 to December 2000. During his imprisonment he found very upset and could not bear his jail life. His supporters had high expectations from him that he will face the trial and jail period with bravery but he failed to do so and lost the support of his party workers and colleagues due to this.

He struck a deal with General Pervez Musharraf and went into exile. He signed a written agreement in which he accepted that he will not come back to Pakistan for 10 years and will not play any role in Pakistani politics and will live these 10 years in Saudia Arabia.
He is the only political prisoner of Pakistan who struck the deal to come out of jail.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain A well known leader of Pakistan (born January 271946) is a politician from Pakistan who was the Prime Minister of that country from June 302004 until August 28 2004. He hails from the province of the Punjab, where his cousin Chaudhry Pervez Elahi served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2007.
Politics
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Chaudhry Shujaat, a graduate of Forman Christian College University, Lahore and obtained the industrial management diploma from Oxford university then came back to Pakistan to continue the politics and became a member of the federal parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) in 1981 and until 1985 when he contested in the general election from Gujrat on both the National and Punjab Assemblies seats. After the elections he had to vacate his Punjab Assembly seat in favour of the National Assembly seat he had one and he became a member of the then Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo’s cabinet as the Industries Minister. He served a further 4 terms as a member of the national assembly after being elected (1988, 1990, 1997, 2002). He also acted as the parliamentary party leader of the PML-N in the National Assembly. Over the years he held several portfolios as a Federal Minister including Information and Broadcasting (1986), Industries and Production (1987–1988), Interior (1990–1993), and Interior & Narcotics Control (1997–1999). Chaudhry Shujaat was an active political leader as well, heading the Parliamentary Party of Joint Opposition in the National Assembly from 1988 to 1990. He was President of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in Punjab from 1997 to 1999, led the Parliamentary Party then called PML-Q beginning in December 2002, was President of the Pakistan Muslim League in January 2003 and was elected President of Pakistan Muslim League on May 12 2004.
On the international scene, he has been named an Honorary Consul General in the Republic of Korea (1982) and was awarded Korea's highest diplomatic award Order of the Diplomatic Service Merit "Ueung-in-Metal" for distinguished services in promoting mutual relations between Pakistan and Republic of Korea.

Prime minister of Pakistan
After the Nawaz Sharif government was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999, several PML-N dissidents formed a group under Mian Muhammad Azhar's leadership. Earlier, Chaudhry Shujaat did not join any group, but after Nawaz Sharif's exile, for the sake of democracy restoration he also joined Mian Azhar and formed the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in March 2001. In the general election of October 2002, Chaudhry Shujaat was elected to the National Assembly. He has also been elected unopposed for three years in a row as president of the PML (Q), which was Pakistan's ruling party from 2006 to 2008.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi


Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi (born 1 November 1945), is a Pakistani politician. He was the Chief Minister of Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, from 2002 to 2007.

History of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and His Family
Chauhdry Parvez Elahi
Elahi was born in 1945 and educated at Lahore’s Forman Christian College and Watford College of Technology in London.
Chaudhry Manzur Elahi, father of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi is the elder brother of late Chaudhry Zahur Elahi raised in Gujrat, Chaudry Manzur Elahi left his hometown in 1939 to pursue further studies. He received his degree in textile engineering from Amritsar in 1940.
Upon his return from Amritsar, Chaudry Manzur Elahi teamed up with his brother to develop their textile business. In 1947-48, he established two textile units under the names of Gujrat Silk Mills and Pakistan Textile Mills. In 1950, the business was expanded to Lahore where they established Parvez Textile Mills, specializing in weaving, finishing and dyeing. In 1951-52, Chaudhry Manzur Elahi went to Japan to import textile machinery for his Gujrat and Lahore units. Armed with his textile education and superior business ethics, Chaudry Manzur Elahi’s textile units continued to flourish under his leadership. The family continued to dedicate their energies to their business and set up Modern Flour Mills in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
In 1956, Chaudry Zahur Elahi decided to enter politics, however, Chaudhry Manzur Elahi remained committed to the business. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was elected Chairman of the Gujrat District Board in 1958, and thereafter devoted his efforts solely for the welfare and uplift of the people of his area. The same year, Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was also elected Director of the National Bank of Pakistan. He was elected continuously as Director for the next twelve years.
In 1958, General Ayub Khan came to power through martial law. He enforced the Elected Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO) for the disqualification of politicians for the next five years. The politicians were given two options: either to retire voluntarily or to face the consequences of the Government’s action. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was the only politician, in the entire West Pakistan province, who challenged the EBDO. Despite being cleared by the EBDO Tribunal for all charges, Chaudry Zahur Elahi was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was elected Member of National Assembly in 1962 and consequently became Secretary General of the Pakistan Muslim League’s Parliamentary Party of United Pakistan. Around this time the family purchased Pakistan Times.
Chaudhry Zahur Elahi continued to gain popularity in the political scene and was elected to the National Assembly in 1970. He was among the few members of the Pakistan Muslim League to get elected. East Pakistan was seceded in 1971 following emergence of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in politics. On his coming to power, Z.A. Bhutto nationalized a number of industries including flour mills. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was among the nine opposition parliamentary leaders who were thrown out of the Parliament House by the Bhutto regime. During the Bhutto regime, Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was accused of a number of incidents such as the alleged buffalo theft case and the Iraqi arms for Balochistan case. He was involved in several alleged cases, one of which was delivering an anti-government speech in Pearl Continental, Karachi. A special tribunal sentenced him to imprisonment for five years. He remained imprisoned in different jails but         served mostly in the Karachi jail.
Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was released from jail and he launched his election campaign from Gujrat and Constituency No.3 of Lahore against Bhutto. However, these elections were postponed. The Zia regime decided to return these industries to their original owners. The Chaudhry family took charge of their flourmills.
At this juncture, the Chaudhry family decided that Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi (sons of the two brothers) should take charge of the family business as well as to enter politics. In 1982, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was elected Chairman of District Council Gujrat and remained Chairman for several years. In the 1985 non-party based elections, Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi were elected to the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly respectively.
As well as their political careers, both cousin brothers remained heavily involved in their business as well. In 1987, the family diversified into the sugar industry. They set up two sugar mills, at Mian Channu (Khanewal) and at Phalia (Mandi Bahauddin). The family also expanded their textile business by entering spinning and cotton yarn in 1990-91 and consequently set up two separate units in Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin.
In 1988 Benazir Bhutto came to power. The Chaudries defaulted on loans, alleging harassment from the Bhutto regime, The family sought relief from the courts and continued their business on borrowing from the private sector. In 1997 when he interim Government announced that no one would be allowed to contest in the elections without clearing their loans, the family faced serious financial problems. They managed to sell their sugar and cotton yarn in advance for coming two years at lower rates to repay their loans.
From 1993-97, several alleged cases were registered against Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. They were detained in Adiyla Jail Rawalpindi for several months. In the 1997 election, the two cousins were elected to the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly with majority votes and held important ministries. Chaudry Shujaat Hussain was the Interior Minister while Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was elected Speaker of the Punjab Assembly with overwhelming majority.

Education
He studied at Forman Christian College University completed graduation in 1967, and obtained a diploma in Industrial Management from the University of Oxford.

Political Carrier
He became chairman of the Gujrat district council in 1983 and has been serving as an MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab since 1985.
He served as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development during 1985-88, 1988–90 and 1990-93. He was Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly during 1993-96, and also the Leader of the Opposition later. He was the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly during 1997-99.
In the elections of 2002, he was elected for a sixth consecutive term from two constituencies - PP-110 (Gujrat) and PP-292 (Rahim Yar Khan). On November 29, 2002, he was inducted as the Chief Minister of Punjab, serving until November 22, 2007, when the five-year mandate ended for the provincial assembly of Punjab. He is also the President of his political party, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in Punjab. On 24 July 2006 he was elected, second time unopposed, the President of the PML for next three years.
He has been praised for making great contributions to agriculture and irrigation, education, health, IT, public sector development, infrastructure, supply of gas and electricity and law and order while serving as Chief Minister of Punjab. He has also faced criticism for the appointment of cronies. For the first time in Punjab, all citizens were offered all levels of health care and medical facilities completely free of cost.
Thousand of water courses were brick lined. For the first time in Lahore, traffic was controlled by traffic wardens. Even his most fierce rivals have acknowledged his work.
2008 election
In the February 2008 parliamentary election, Elahi ran for the National Assembly as a PML-Q candidate, and it was believed that the party wanted him to become Prime Minister after the election, although it did not officially declare him as its candidate for the position. He ran for the seats NA-58 in Attock, NA-61 in Chakwal, and NA-187 in Bahawalpur, along with two provincial assembly seats. After the election, he was reported to have won the National Assembly seat in Attock but lost the other two.

2008 election
In the February 2008 parliamentary election, Elahi ran for the National Assembly seats as a PML-Q candidate, and it was believed that the party wanted him to become Prime Minister after the election, although not officially declared as the candidate for premiership. He ran for the seats NA-58 in Attock, NA-61 in Chakwal, and NA-187 in Bahawalpur, however. Elahi was the PML-Q's candidate for Prime Minister following the election; in the parliamentary vote, held on 24 March 2008, he was defeated by Yousaf Raza Gillani of the PPP, receiving 42 votes against 264 for Gillani.
His son Moonis Elahi also participated in the elections. After a very publicized campaign which cost the PML Q a lot in terms of finance, Moonis Elahi lost the provincial assembly seat from Lahore he was running for, however he won the provincial assembly seat from Gujrat and was elected to the Punjab assembly for the first time.
Chaudhry Parvez Elahi is still the party president of PML Q in Punjab and is gearing up his party for the next election.

Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi

Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi

Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi (died 25 September 1981) was a politician from GujratPunjabPakistan. Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi founded a political family of Pakistan.

Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi
He began his career in the late 1930s as a police constable of the Punjab, although after allegations of corruption which were not proved he was dismissed from the force. He eventually started his business in joint cooperation with His Brother Ch. Manzoor Elahi, who was a textile engineer.They jointly purchased and operated a textile mill after independence of Pakistan. He settled in Gujrat. He was a Jat of the Warriach clan. He entered local politics in the 1950s. During Ayub Khan's time, Zahoor Elahi aspired to be governor of West PakistanNawab of Kalabagh Amir Mohammad Khan, the incumbent governor, jokingly told his friends that if Elahi were not careful, he would put him in his proper place and reinstate him a constable. As secretary-general to the Convention Muslim League, he came to oppose Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In his conflict with Bhutto, he was imprisoned, and family property was taken by the Government, he was assassinated in 1981.
Early life
The family of a peasants, late became known as Chaudhry Sardar Khan, is spread over two generations in their 62-year struggle from 1939 to 2001. His two sons Chaudhry Manzur Elahi and Chaudhry Zahur Elahi and his grandsons Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi gained their present status due to their struggles. They are reaping the fruits of the foundation laid by their forefathers.
Chaudhry Manzur Elahi, father of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi is the elder brother of late Chaudhry Zahur Elahi raised in Gujrat, Chaudry Manzur Elahi left his hometown in 1939 to pursue further studies. He received his degree in textile engineering from Amritsar in 1940.
Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi was enlisted as a constable in the Punjab Police in the late nineteen thirties.

Business
Upon his return from Amritsar, Chaudry Manzur Elahi teamed up with his brother to develop their textile business. In 1947-48, he Established two textile units under the names of Gujrat Silk Mills and Pakistan Textile Mills. In 1950, the business was expanded to Lahore where they established Parvez Textile Mills, specializing in weaving, finishing and dyeing. In 1951-52, Chaudhry Manzur Elahi went to Japan to import textile machinery for his Gujrat and Lahore units. Armed with his textile education and superior business ethics, Chaudry Manzur Elahi’s textile units continued to flourish under his leadership. The family continued to dedicate their energies to their business and set up Modern Flour Mills in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Family is accused of loan defaults.
Early political career
In 1956, Chaudry Zahur Elahi decided to enter politics, however, Chaudhry Manzur Elahi remained committed to the business. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was elected Chairman of the Gujrat District Board in 1958, and thereafter devoted his efforts solely for the welfare and uplift of the people of his area. The same year, Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was also elected Director of the National Bank of Pakistan. He was elected continuously as Director for the next twelve years.
In 1958, General Ayub Khan came to power through martial law. He enforced the Elected Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO) for the disqualification of politicians for the next five years. The politicians were given two options: either to retire voluntarily or to face the consequences of the Government’s action. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was the only politician, in the entire West Pakistan province, who challenged the EBDO. Despite being cleared by the EBDO Tribunal for all charges, Chaudry Zahur Elahi was victimized by the Martial Law regime and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was elected Member of National Assembly in 1962 and consequently became Secretary General of the Pakistan Muslim League’s Parliamentary Party of United Pakistan. Around this time the family purchased Pakistan Times.

1970s
Chaudhry Zahur Elahi continued to gain popularity in the political scene and was elected to the National Assembly in 1970. He was among the few members of the Pakistan Muslim League to get elected. East Pakistan was seceded in 1971 following emergence of Mr. Z. A Bhutto in politics. On his coming to power, Z.A. Bhutto nationalized a number of industries including flour mills. Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was among the nine opposition parliamentary leaders who were thrown out of the Parliament House by the Bhutto regime. During the Bhutto regime, Chaudry Zahur Elahi was politically harassed on a number of incidents such as the alleged buffalo theft case and the so-called Iraqi arms for Balochistan case. He was involved in several fabricated cases, one of which was delivering an anti-government speech in Pearl Continental, Karachi.In some of the cases Mr.Shaukat Goraya helped Mr.Zahur Elahi. A special tribunal sentenced him to imprisonment for five years. He remained imprisoned in different jails but s erved mostly in the Karachi jail. Bhutto also planned to assassinate Chaudhry Zahur Elahi, and had in fact, given orders to the then Balochistan Governor Akbar Bugti to eliminate Chaudry Zahur Elahi. Akbar Bugti refused the orders. Pakistan National Alliance gained momentum following the 1977 rigged elections, when General Zia-ul-Haq seized power and announced to hold fresh elections.
Chaudhry Zahur Elahi was released from jail and he launched his election campaign from Gujrat and Constituency No.3 of Lahore against Bhutto. However, these elections were postponed. Due to the deteriorating financial situation of the nationalized industries, the Zia regime decided to return these industries to their original owners. The Chaudhry family took charge of their flourmills with a new determination.

1980s
Following General Zia’s actions against the Bhutto family, Murtaza Bhutto formed Al - Zulfiqar, a terrorist organization.Ghulam Mustafa Khar then contacted Ch.Shaukat Nawaz Goraya in London, who was the right hand of Chauhdry Zahoor Elahi and was also the nephew of Mr.Sarfraz Goraya who from 1937-1969 consecutively was elected as MLA and MNA,to calm down Mr Zahur Elahi and warn him of Murtaza Bhutto. But he did not listen to Mr.Shaukat Goraya and Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi became the first victim of Al - Zulfiqar when he was assassinated in Lahore in September 1981. Murtaza Bhutto publicly accepted responsibility for the assassination in his interview with BBC.
At this juncture, the Chaudhry family decided that Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi (sons of the two brothers) should take charge of the family business as well as to enter politics. In 1982, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was elected Chairman of District Council Gujrat and remained Chairman for several years due to his popularity. In the 1985 non-party based elections, Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi were elected to the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly respectively.
Despite being their political responsibilities, both cousin brothers attended to their business as well. In 1987, the family diversified into the sugar industry. They set up two sugar mills, at Mian Channu (Khanewal) and at Phalia (Mandi Bahauddin). The family also expanded their textile business by entering spinning and cotton yarn in 1990-91 and consequently set up two separate units in Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin.
In 1988 Benazir Bhutto came to power and followed the footsteps of her family in victimizing the Chaudhry family. Her government issued orders to all banks to stop issuing working capital to the industrial units owned by the Chaudries, thus making them engineered defaulters. The family sought relief from the courts and continued their business on borrowing from the private sector.

1990s
From 1993-97, several cases were registered against Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. They were detained in Adiyla Jail Rawalpindi for several months.Although they were deep involve in corruption In the 1997 election, the two cousins were elected to the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly with majority votes and held important ministries. Chaudry Shujaat Hussain was the Interior Minister while Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was elected Speaker of the Punjab Assembly with overwhelming majority.