GUJRAT: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Sunday hinted at some background efforts to iron out internal differences within the family and PML-Q as three different sessions were held at the same venue to mark the death anniversary of Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, the founding father of family politics.

The ceremony has been a regular feature in Gujrat for the last 41 years, however, internal difference within the family have led to multiple events — three this year and two each during 2021 and 2020.

The first session in the morning was organised by former Gujrat district nazim Shafaat Hussain where participants offered prayers for the departed soul in the main drawing room of the Zahoor Elahi House.

An hour later, the Q chief along with his both scions federal minister Salik Hussain and Shafaay Hussain arrived at the main lawn of the house where a former member of Islamic Ideology council Saeed Shah Gujrati led the prayers in the presence of the local party workers.

Three different events held to mark the event

Shujaat Hussain and his sons later left the place along a heavy contingent of rangers for their security and went to the grave of Zahoor Elahi to offer prayers.

An hour later CM Parvez Elahi, former federal minister Wajahat Hussain and his scions MNA Hussain Elahi and Musa Elahi arrived at the venue to hold the third session.

A reliable source told Dawn both Shujaat Hussain and Parvez Elahi had a telephonic conversation on Sunday morning and agreed to hold a single session as per tradition but the situation changed later on.

Mr Elahi, in his brief address, told his supporters that all heirs of late Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi would get united at one platform within the next couple of months for which efforts were being made to calm down some young members (of the family) as the entire family and supporters had a wish to see all forging a unity.

He said that after the death of Ch Zahoor Elahi the family remained united for at least 41 years but everyone knew that a few scions in the family had defied the elders and made the decisions on their own.

“It is now the duty of the elders to persuade the youth to show wisdom,” Elahi said and vowed to show a complete unity among the family in the next year’s gathering.

The chief minister said he had pledged to upgrade Gujrat to the level of divisional headquarter which had now been achieved and announced to establish an engineering university in the town.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2022