Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, widely known as the ‘god father’ of the King’s party, is one politician who does no good to his image by public speaking. Not that his impaired speaking ability is his only handicap, the problem is as much intellectual, as physical. Whenever he opens his mouth, people wonder what made him say so, or what was the occasion to raise the issue. Only a few days ago he told a correspondent that his party would make ‘teaching of Quran compulsory in schools’. However his rather out of the blue pronouncement had a connection, he had just met Umme-Hassan the wife of Lal Masjid’s erstwhile supremo Maulana Abdul Aziz. Appeasing the Lal Masjid moral brigade which has now disappeared from the scene of action, appears to be an odd move, and proclaiming teaching of Quran in schools as his agenda a crude attempt to find favour within Islamic quarters. But Chaudhry Shujaat seems to be fixated with the idea of going all the way to mend fences with the ‘mullahs’.
Is he scared of a religious backlash, or does he himself share the Taliban worldview, he has been one great roadblock to President Musharraf’s campaign for enlightened moderation. On numerous occasions he has been working at cross-purposes with the government policy of promoting liberal values. On the question of women rights bill he was said to have dragged his feet till the eleventh hour to secure consensus of the MMA, and concurring to set-up a supra today of Mullahs to review the bill before it was introduced in the House. As new passports were designed to catch up with international standards he was among the few leaders who took exception to the omission of column on religion. And he was known to opposed the Lal Masjid operation till the very last, insisting that a way out should be found to strike a compromise deal with the militants hauled up in the Masjid, including the option to let them go scot free with their weapons and destination of their own choice.
For all practical purposes Shujaat has been playing more of a Mullah than all the officially pronounced Mullahs, yet he was among the top guns in the King’s party, which was supposedly the vanguard of fight against obscurantism and religious fanaticism. Small wonder, critics said, there were ‘enemy agents’ within the ranks of the ruling party men like Shujaat and ilk of him who had no quarrel with the religious dogma or fanatics trying the reverse the process of social change. However, Shujaat Hussain was surely not a misfit in Musharraf regime, since he symbolised the ethos of the King’s party --- basically a crowd of time-servers and fortune seekers, prepared to serve with no qualms of conscience any master who could let them have a share in the booty. Shujaat was perfectly at ease among the gang of courtiers who had conveniently crossed over from one party to another to remain on the right side of the ruling hierarchy. And it did matter to them whether they were required to serve under a popularly elected leader like Nawaz Sharif, or a military dictator like General Musharraf.
Shujaat’s family, popularly known as ‘Chaudhrys of Punjab’, rose from the ranks of what Mao would have described as ‘evil gentry’ --- neither feudals like most politicians from Southern Punjab, nor from amongst the industrialist elite a la the famous “22 families”, but it flourished in business and politics on account of bradari linkages, nexus with the local bureaucracy (police in particular) and by sponsoring cattle lifters. Shujaat’s father, Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi made ‘big money’ after his retirement from police as a petty functionary, as he knew the art of using the right connections to obtain ‘permits and licences’, which was then the password for social climbing. Zahoor Elahi made hay while the sun shined and rose quickly as the undisputed leader of the ‘Jats’ of Gujarat’, powerful enough to challenge the political dominance of ‘Nawabzadas’ of the Gujjar tribe’, and a business tycoon who could buyoff political support and the services of officials who mattered in power promotion.
Zahoor Elahi’s first venture under Ayub Khan was to become Chairman National Press Trust, which Ayub regime had set up after taking over the Progressive papers from Mian Iftikharuddin. But it did not suit his genius, as some critics sarcastically said; a semi-literate has been handed over custody of the country’s leading newspaper network. Although he was quite comfortable doing business with authoritarian regimes he could not gain access to the inner circles of either Ayub Khan, or Ziaul Haq, but made a name for himself for his rabid anti-Bhuttoism. Ironically, he fell victim to a ‘Bhutto loyalist’, bullet though accidentally as the real target of attack was Maulvi Mushtaq Hussain (Punjab High Court Chief Justice who had awarded death sentence to ZAB) who was travelling with him in the same car.
Shujaat has inherited ‘anti-Bhuttoism’ as his war cry in political contention. Musharraf’s power-sharing deal with Benazir came as a shock to him and his cousin Chief Minister of Punjab, who left no stone unturned to foil the proposed accord. The war of words which broke out thereafter was ceaseless and bitter, as Shujaat and company branded the Bhutto clan as anti-national and enemies of Pakistan, while Benazir accused the ‘Chaudhrys’ of a hand in plots to kill her. Ironically, Shujaat went as far as to allege that Asif Zardari himself might have a hand in killing Benazir. The Chaudhrys were accused of ‘foul play’ when they tried to give an ethnic colour to December 28 riots in Sindh, and held Asif Zardari responsible for engineering violence against Punjabi settlers and Urdu-speaking people. They had stooped rather low to play the ‘Punjabi card’ against the PPP, critics said.
Shujaat and company had grudgingly accepted Shaukat Aziz as the prime minister since he was a Musharraf nominee but they did not let him rest in peace during his term in office, as they were said to be behind several moves to destabilise him. And eventually they saw to it that Shaukat Aziz would not be a candidate for the second term, as they denied him party ticket for contesting the 2008 elections. Pervez Elahi who fancies himself as the next prime minister did not stop taking snide at Shaukat Aziz even when he had left Pakistan to live abroad, as he held him responsible for ‘atta’ and sugar crises in the country.
According to political pundits it is the end of the road for the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, in particular Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain himself. Given the turn of events in the country, President Pervez Musharraf is no longer in a position to sponsor them as his co-sharers of power. The time is gone when he could openly canvass for the Kings party and tell people to vote for its candidates because they stand for his politics. In the wake of his declining public support he could not now catch the extra-votes he thought he could by projecting ‘Shujaat and Co as his ‘own men’. By all reckoning he has no choice but to come to terms to transferring power to someone other than his ‘own men’. Shujaat and Co. is under the circumstances in a dicey situation. They will have to save themselves from ‘political displacement’, rather than claiming the lion’s share in the spoils of power.
In the wake of an open competition with PPP and Nawaz League, the Kings party headed by Shujaat and Co stands bleak chances of making the grade. No one says it can still manage to win majority. On the contrary some would give it a second place while others suggest it may well be relegated to a poor third. In the event of forming a coalition it could only hope to become a junior partner. In any case if President Musharraf is ready to do business with new partners he could dispense with Chaudhry Shujaat and pick up someone else to lead his political faction. The Chaudhrys of Gujrat do not have worthwhile support base, nor they have the leadership potential to hold the party together in adversity. Chaudhry Shujaat himself does not have a safe personal seat. In the 1988 election he was defeated by the PPP candidate from his home constituency. And one cannot entirely rule out the possibility that it may happen again.
