Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is a veteran politician hailing from Gujrat who is the current party president of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q).

He previously served as Prime minister of Pakistan on a temporary basis during a transitional period to accommodate Shaukat Aziz from June 30 to August 28, 2004.

Born on January 27, 1937 to a business-industrialist family from the Punjab, Hussain graduated from the FC College University and the Punjab University. After his graduation, Hussain subsequently joined the family business comprising large numbers of industries, textiles, agricultural farms, sugar and flour mills in 1969.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain entered national politics after the assassination of his father Chaudhry ZahoorElahi. He became a crucial power broker in the regime of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.

After participating in 1985 non-partisan general elections, Hussain joined the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and formed ties with the PML. He served as the minister of the Ministry of Industry and held additional ministerial portfolio of Ministry of Information and Mass Media Broadcasting in 1986, and Ministry of Defence Production in 1987–88.

Hussain became a leader and influential conservative figure in IslamiJamhoriIttehad in 1988–90 which overthrew the democratically-elected government of prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and later joined the PMLled by Nawaz Sharif in 1993.

He served as the interior minister in the two non-consecutive terms of prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He confronted Nawaz Sharif who imposed an economic emergency in 1998 as Pakistan successfully conducted the atomic blasts.

Originally a loyalist of Nawaz Sharif, Hussain defected when General Pervez Musharraf took over in a coup d’état in 1999. His family remains influential in national politics and his younger cousin Pervez Illahi served as Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 during Musharraf’s military rule.

Hussain defect to PML-Q, a splinter group of PML, after Sharif was exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000 and contested the 2002 general elections from Gujrat.  He endorsed to appoint Zafarullah Khan Jamali as prime minister, and played a role in bringing Shaukat Aziz in politics.

See Also: Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan – Born, Age, Family, Political Party

Hussain was not successful in the 2013 general elections. The party had a brief alliance with the Pakistan People Party and Pervez Elahi was given a newly-created position as deputy prime minister.

The PML-Q has witnessed several defections with the most recent of Mushahid Hussain Syed, and is unlikely to make any significant role the next general elections.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain – Born, Age, Family, Political Party