Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich commonly referred to as Pervaiz Elahi (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistani politician who is the former Chief Minister of Punjab. He was a member of the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani provinces, Pakistani province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under ...

from August 2018 till January 2023, when he, as chief minister, dissolved the assembly. In 2023, he left the

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

(PML(Q)) and joined

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

(PTI) along with his son,

Moonis Elahi Chaudhry Moonis Elahi ( ur, ; born 12 April 1976) is a Pakistani politician from Punjabi Jatt Warraich family. who has been a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since October 2018. He was Minister for Water Resources (Pakistan) fr ...

, and 10 other former PML(Q) MPAs over political rifts with the party president and cousin,

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ( pa, ; ur, ; (born 27 January 1940) is a senior Pakistani politician from a Punjabi Jat family of Gujrat who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the Pakistan ...

. He was appointed president of the PTI. He was the former president of the Punjab Division of the PML(Q). He served as the First

Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan The Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, officially the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the second most senior minister of the Republic of the Government of Pakistan. The main purpose of the post was to give ...

in 2013. After a successful campaign in the 2002

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, he became the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and held this position until 2007. In 2008, he briefly served as the leader of the opposition in the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

. He remained a member of the National Assembly for two terms, from 2008 to May 2018. He has also been the

Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab The Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab (Urdu: اسپیکر پنجاب اسمبلی) is the presiding official of the Punjab Assembly. Informally, the Speaker is also called Speaker Punjab Assembly. The office originated in 1921, ...

from 2018 to 2022. In a major development in late February 2023, Parvez Elahi announced joining

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

-led party along with 10 of his party's former MPAs. On 7 March 2023, Parvez Elahi was appointed as President of the

Early life and education

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was born 1 November 1945 in Gujrat,

to industrialist Chaudhry Manzoor Elahi. He hails from a family of politicians and industrialists of Gujrat. They belong to a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

family of the

Warraich Warraich or Waraich is a clan of Jatts both in Pakistan and India, mainly located in Punjab, Pakistan and Punjab, India . Notable people Notable people with the surname, who may or may not be affiliated with the clan, include: * Chaudhary Perva ...

clan. His father Chaudhry Manzoor was non-political, unlike his younger brother Chaudhry Zahoor, concentrating on his business in the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

, being active in

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

and then

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

after earning his B.Sc. Engineering but having to move back to his native village of Natt in Gujrat due to the 1947 partition. He had two daughters and three sons: Parvez, Javed, who looked after the family business, and Sabahat, who has resided in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, being engaged in carpet manufacturing. Chaudhry Manzoor died in 2005, at the age of 90. Parvez received his early education from

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by American ...

, Lahore until 1967 and later attended Watford College of Technology from where he received his

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

Industrial Management In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perfe ...

. Parvez is a cousin of former Prime Minister of Pakistan

and is married to his sister, with whom he has two sons,

and Rasikh Elahi. While his younger son Moonis is also a well known politician, his elder son Rasikh has been described as “a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

religious scholar, who avoids politics and public appearances.” His brother-in-law Ashraf Marth, who served as the SSP

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

, was assassinated in 1997 by

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ; ur, ) or "Army of Jhangvi", is a Deobandi Sunni supremacist, terrorist and jihadist militant organisation based in Afghanistan. The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is an offshoot of anti-Shia ...

militants. Outside Chaudhry Shujaat, his brothers and their sons, Parvez’s other relatives in politics include Chaudhry Tajamal Hussain, the cousin of his father who has been an MNA, and whose own son Chaudhry Mubashar Hussain is a politician as well.

Political career

Early political career: Nawaz-Benazir conundrum (1985-1999)

Parvez began his political career after being elected as the chairman of the district council of Gujrat for four years in 1983. He served as Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development for eight years from 1985 to 1993. He was elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab for the first time in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, again in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. He also served as the acting leader of the opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from 1993 During the late 1980s and 1990s

Pakistani politics The Politics of Pakistan () takes place within the framework established by the constitution. The country is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of autonomy and residuary powers. Executive p ...

was dominated by two movements, the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, right-wing Islamic Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) led by

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

, and the more

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP) led by

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

. Parvez Elahi and the Chaudhry family followed a more traditionalist and conservative outlook, therefore Parvez and Shujaat Hussain sided with Nawaz Sharif and both joined the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad from 1985 to 1993, until joining the IJI’s successor, the

PML-N The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party ...

. Several cases were registered against Pervaiz during

's government in 1993-1996 and he was sent to

Adiala Jail Central Jail Rawalpindi (also known as Adiala Jail) is a prominent prison in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. History The Central Jail Rawalpindi was built from the late 1970s and early 1980s during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, afte ...

where he spent several months. He enjoyed the services of Mentorship of Barrister Ijaz Hussain Batalvi and his legal team including M.A. Zafar, Nawaz Bhatti and

Akhtar Aly Kureshy Akhtar Aly Kureshy ( ur, ) (born 15 November 1963) is a Pakistani lawyer, advisor and senior advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan who served as Assistant Attorney-General for Pakistan. He remained Assistant Advocate General Punjab, a ...

Advocates. He also appointed

as legal Advisor to

when he was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Punjab Assembly. It was reported that Nawaz Sharif had promised Parvez that if PML-N won the

1997 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the members of National Assembly. The elections were a fierce contest between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by pre-election Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Mus ...

, Pervaiz would be made the chief minister of Punjab. However, when PML-N won the 1997 general elections, Nawaz appointed his brother Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Minister of Punjab. To avoid the impression that Pervaiz was unhappy with this decision of Nawaz Sharif, Pervaiz supported Shahbaz Sharif for the position of Chief Minister, however, he decided not to join the provincial cabinet of Shahbaz Sharif. He was re-elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab for the fifth time in 1997 and was elected as the speaker of Provincial Assembly of Punjab in 1997 where he remained until June 2001.

Alliance with Musharraf, Rise of the PML-Q (1999-2018)

Following the 1999 military coup, he was detained by the

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau ( ur, ; abbreviated NAB) is an autonomous and constitutionally established federal institution responsible to build efforts against corruption and prepare critical national economic intelligence assessments ...

on corruption charges. The charges were dropped following an agreement he made to quit the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

, whose part he had been until the ouster of the

government, and assist President

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

in building

PML-Q The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

. He along with his cousin Shujaat and other dissidents left PML-N to form their own party,

. He was re-elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab for the sixth time in the 2002 Pakistani general election. Following the elections, Pervaiz was elected as the chief minister of Punjab for the first time, an office he served from October 2002 until October 2007.

Chief ministership

As Chief Minister of Punjab, Parvez initiated several initiatives to develop the province, including the

Multan Institute of Cardiology Multan Institute of Cardiology (MIC), is a hospital located in Multan city in Pakistan. It was established by Nawaz Sharif, the former chief minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province, in 2016. History A project for the establishment of ...

, which Elahi founded and worked to establish. Some of his most successful projects include the

Rescue 1122 Rescue 1122 ( ur, 1122 ایمرجنسی) is an emergency service that serves Punjab Province (Pakistan), Punjab Province , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KPK Province , Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province , Sindh, Sindh Province, Gilgit-Baltistan ...

helpline system, the

University of Gujrat The University of Gujrat (UOG) is a Leading public university located in Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 2004.2008 Pakistani general election 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, Pervaiz was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time and as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab for the seventh time. The

nominated Pervaiz as its candidate for the post of prime minister of Pakistan following the 2008 general elections. Following the election, he was made the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, however he quit this post later that year. He was made Federal Minister for Defence Production and Industries in the

Yousuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive #Disqualification and ouster, disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of P ...

cabinet. In 2011, a ceremonial post was created to appoint Parvez as the first deputy prime minister of Pakistan, having no powers even in the absence of the prime minister of Pakistan. In the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the 14th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) led by Nawaz Sharif, t ...

, Pervaiz contested and won election from NA-105, a National Assembly constituency in Gujrat defeating candidates of PPP and PML-N. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of

from

NA-65 (Chakwal-II) NA-59 Chakwal-cum-Talagang () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. It was previously known as (1988–2002) NA-44 Chakwal-II, (2002–2018) NA-61 Chakwal-II and (2018-2022) NA-65 Chakwal-II. Members of Parliament 1988–2002 ...

and

NA-69 (Gujrat-II) NA-65 (Gujrat-IV) () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. Members of Parliament 2018-2022: NA-69 (Gujrat-II) Election 2002 General elections were held on 10 Oct 2002. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of PML-Q won by 66,809 votes. ...

in the

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 to elect the members of 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. In the same election, he was re-elected to the

Provincial Assembly of Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Paki ...

as a candidate of

from PP-30 (Gujrat-III). Following his successful election, he abandoned his National Assembly seats in favor of his provincial assembly seat. He was named by

(PTI) and

as their joint candidate for the office of

. On 16 August 2018, he was elected as Speaker of the Punjab Assembly. He received 201 votes against his opponent Muhammad Iqbal Gujjar who secured 147 votes.

Alliance with Imran Khan and the PTI (2018-Present)

On 19 August 2018, he became the acting governor of Punjab following the resignation of

Rafique Rajwana Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana ( pa, ; ur, ; born 20 February 1949) was the 32nd Governor of Punjab, in office since 10 May 2015. He is affiliated with PML-N. He conducted landmark cases, including Mian Nawaz Sharif, Memogate Scandal, Elec ...

. In March 2022,

nominated Parvez Elahi as a candidate for the post of Chief Minister of Punjab after the incumbent

Usman Buzdar Sardar Usman Ahmad Khan Buzdar ( ur, ; born 1 May 1969) is a Pakistani politician and previously served as Chief Minister of The Punjab from 20 August 2018 to 30 April 2022. He has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab since Aug ...

resigned. After a four-month long

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this d ...

, he took oath as the 18th Chief Minister of Punjab on 27 July. On 22 December, the Governor of Punjab, Balighur Rehman, denotified Elahi from his position, citing his failure to take a vote of confidence from the

Provincial Assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

, which the Governor had requested, as the reason for the denotification. However, Elahi was restored by the

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...

on 23 December 2022. On 12 January 2023, after securing victory in a vote of confidence the night before, Parvez sent a letter to Governor Balighur-Rehman, advising him to dissolve the Provincial Assembly. On 22 January, he was replaced as Chief Minister by

Mohsin Raza Naqvi Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi ( ur, ; born 28 October 1978) is a Pakistani media mogul who is the owner of City Media Group. He is serving as the incumbent caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab since 22 January 2023. Early life and Media career Naqvi ...

, who was appointed by the

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ; ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, l ...

to lead a

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

. He was stated to be in the run for a seat in the Punjab Assembly from PP-34 Gujrat-VII as a candidate of the PTI in the next Punjab provincial election.

President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

In June 2023, Elahi was arrested on charges of illegally appointing officers in the Punjab Assembly when he was Chief Minister and detained in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. Elahi denied the charges, calling it political persecution. He was released on bail in May 2024.

Publications

* ''Punjab's Vision 2020: Pre Budget Policy Address'', Government of the Punjab, 2004, 55 p.

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elahi, Chaudhry Pervaiz Living people 1945 births Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani businesspeople Punjab MPAs 1985–1988 Punjab MPAs 1988–1990 Punjab MPAs 1990–1993 Punjab MPAs 1993–1996 Punjab MPAs 1997–1999 Punjab MPAs 2002–2007 Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistan Muslim League (N) MPAs (Punjab) Pakistan Muslim League (Q) MPAs (Punjab) Pakistan Muslim League (Q) MNAs Government of Shaukat Aziz Deputy prime ministers of Pakistan Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Chaudhry family Chief Ministers of Punjab, Pakistan Forman Christian College alumni Leaders of the Opposition (Pakistan) Politicians from Gujrat, Pakistan Punjab MPAs 2018–2023 Defence Production Ministers of Pakistan