GUJRAT: Some banners displayed on billboards across Gujrat on Sunday, carrying pictures of senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi along with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, sparked controversy after they portrayed the father-son duo as supporting the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The banners, displayed by unidentified elements, suggested that the two leaders backed the move to get rid of the politics of sit-ins. However, Moonis Elahi promptly rejected any such stance on his and his father’s behalf, while other politicians whose pictures appeared on similar banners also disowned the [alleged] support for emergency rule.
On the other hand, well-placed sources told Dawn that PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had approached and consulted the party’s central president and former Punjab chief minister, Parvez Elahi, on the matter of talks with the federal government prior to the imposition of emergency in KP.
The sources said some senior opposition leaders had also contacted Mr Elahi for consultation to defuse the tense situation between the PTI and the federal government over the protest march.
Elahis, other leaders disown banners; sources claim Gohar consulted Parvez on talks with govt prior to governor’s rule
During telephonic conversations with these leaders, Mr Elahi advised them to strive for better medical facilities for Imran Khan and implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision concerning his health, the sources said. He also urged them to ensure meetings between Mr Khan and his family members and senior party leaders.
A close aide to Mr Elahi said that owing to health challenges, he (Elahi) did not visit his hometown, Gujrat, for several months. However, he continued to remain in touch with political developments in the district and within the party.
In a post on X, Moonis Elahi said he and his father had stood with Imran Khan in the past and “are with him now.” He said the situation had reached a point where their pictures were being used fraudulently on banners.
Similar banners featuring PTI-backed independent candidates from two other National Assembly constituencies in the district — Sajid Yousaf (NA-63) and Syed Wajahat Shah (NA-65) — were also displayed. Both candidates denied supporting the imposition of emergency in KP.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for PML-Q MPA Chaudhry Musa Elahi objected to a separate banner displayed at a billboard near Jail Chowk in Gujrat. The banner carried pictures of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz alongside PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, while portraying former federal minister Wajahat Hussain and his two sons, MNA Hussain Elahi and Musa Elahi, as supporting the federal government’s move to impose emergency in KP.
The spokesman warned the local administration against ‘trying to mix up the PML-N leadership with that of the PML-Q.’
Sources said both the Parvez Elahi camp of the PTI and the Wajahat Hussain faction of the PML-Q suspected that the banners had been put up by the local administration. The banners were removed after Moonis Elahi issued his denial and the PML-Q spokesman lodged his objection.
Later, the banner showing Shujaat Hussain and Asim Munir again appeared without pictures of Shehbaz and Maryam.
Meanwhile, PML-Q MPA Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed Ranian distributed sweets and celebrated the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP at his political office near Dinga in Gujrat district.
No similar banners supporting the federal government’s action were displayed in the city featuring senior PML-Q leaders and ministers Salik Hussain and Shafay Hussain.
Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2026
