GUJRAT: Three daughters of Chaurdhy Zahoor Elahi are running the election campaign for former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi for the PP-32 bye-poll. Mr Elahi, who is in jail, faces Chaudhry Musa Elahi, son of Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, of the PML-Q.

Three sisters - Qaisara Elahi, wife of Mr Elahi, Naaz Elahi, wife of former Attock district nazim retired Maj Tahir Sadiq, and Sameera Elahi, wife of Tafweez Chohan - along with their niece (sister’s daughter) MPA Basima Riaz Chudhary from Mandi Bahauddin, visited the main bazaar of Kunjah on Sunday in connection with Mr. Elahi’s election campaign.

After completing their visit to the bazaar and meeting with traders and shopkeepers, they arrived at the residence of Sheikh Shehkaz Aslam Moon where a large number of party workers and local traders had gathered.

Qaisara Elahi delivered a hard-hitting speech against her brother Wajahat Hussain, criticising him for resorting to pressure tactics through the police and administration against the supporters of Mr. Elahi in Kunjah and other areas of the constituency.

She said that Wajahat had now taken the lead from his nephews Salik Hussain and Shafay Hussain in using these tactics, surpassing what Shujaat’s sons did in the February 8 polls.

Had her mother been alive today, she would have dealt with her brother strongly, Qaisara said, adding that this was the first time she had spoken against Wajahat.

She said she wanted to clarify that people had a misconception that Mr Elahi would leave Imran Khan after facing many difficulties. She said that Mr Elahi had proven predictions wrong by standing firm with Imran Khan and not yielding to the influence of his relatives.

Qaisara said that Mr Elahi has endured many hardships for standing with Mr Khan for a year, and she affirmed that Mr Elahi, along with her, their children, and all their family members, firmly support Mr Khan.

The PP-32 by-elections will be held on April 21 after federal minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain vacated the seat to retain NA-64 (Gujrat-Kunjah).

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2024