Hussain Elahi Slams Maryam Over Development Funds
PML-Q MNA Chaudhry Hussain Elahi slams Maryam over development funds, accusing the Punjab chief minister of blocking money for his constituency and favouring Lahore. He spoke at a public gathering at Qila Islam Nagar near Tanda in Gujrat.
He echoed his cousin Chaudhry Salik Hussain’s criticism of the chief minister over alleged corruption and a discriminatory approach in the allocation of development funds.
Hussain Elahi slams Maryam over Rs3bn in blocked funds
Hussain Elahi accused the chief minister of blocking uplift funds for schemes launched during the tenure of former chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in 2022. He claimed the provincial government had spent Rs11 billion on a plane for the chief minister, but could not release Rs3 billion earmarked for the completion of ongoing development schemes in his constituency.
He asked whether the purchase of a plane was more important than the completion of public welfare schemes. Only Lahore’s development seemed to be the rulers’ priority, he said, while the rest of the province was being ignored.
He said the chief minister claimed Rs12 billion for Gujrat city, yet crucial roads in his constituency had stayed dilapidated or incomplete for four years.
He alleged corruption in the Suthra Punjab and Model Village projects, adding that the rulers would have to account for it.
How the row began
The tiff was sparked by remarks from the federal minister for overseas Pakistanis, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, during a television appearance earlier this month. Salik lavished praise on former chief minister Parvez Elahi and took a swipe at the incumbent provincial chief executive.
In response, Chief Minister Maryam challenged Salik 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.
She said the real issue was her decision to change the deputy commissioner of Gujrat, while Salik had wanted a DC of his choice.
Recalling the chief minister’s legal threats, 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.”
His father, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, also praised Parvez Elahi’s tenure and the welfare schemes launched under him.
The PML-N response
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the development initiatives being undertaken by the Maryam administration across Punjab were causing “considerable discomfort to certain political elements”. She said those who had failed to change Gujrat despite holding high office for years were now criticising Lahore “without any shame”.
The PML-N has pushed back hard against the corruption claims. The party has already hit back at the corruption allegations, and Shafay Hussain has stood by Salik in the row with Maryam. The dispute has also fed wider talk of a plot for an alternative arrangement in Punjab, which Khawaja Asif has warned about.
A family split on open display
Wajahat Hussain and his sons Hussain and Musa Elahi are not on good terms with the sons of party elder Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Salik and Shafay, both cabinet members for two-and-a-half years.
The PTI-aligned Parvez Elahi camp is also annoyed, as Musa won the Kunjah assembly seat Parvez Elahi had held eight times since 1985.
Wajahat and his sons had lately gone soft on their rivals, hinting at reconciliation. But Moonis has ruled out a family reunion, saying his camp will keep its “policy of social distancing”.
On X on Monday, Moonis said the Wajahat camp was “making all this noise” because Shujaat’s children had “kept everything for themselves”. “Had the PML-N also made them ministers, they too would have been sitting happily today,” he said.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Hussain Elahi?
Chaudhry Hussain Elahi is a PML-Q member of the National Assembly from Gujrat and the son of Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, the younger brother of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
What did Hussain Elahi accuse Maryam Nawaz of?
He accused the Punjab chief minister of blocking Rs3 billion in uplift funds for his constituency and of favouring Lahore in development spending, while spending Rs11 billion on a plane.
How did the row between Salik Hussain and Maryam Nawaz start?
It began when federal minister Salik Hussain praised former chief minister Parvez Elahi on television and criticised the current Punjab administration. Maryam challenged him to prove his claims and sent him a legal notice.
What did Azma Bokhari say in response?
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the Maryam administration’s development work was causing “considerable discomfort to certain political elements”.
Is the Chaudhry family reuniting?
No. Moonis Elahi says his camp will keep its “policy of social distancing” with the Shujaat camp.
