Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (Punjabi, Urdu: چودہری شجاعت حسین) (born January 27, 1946) is a politician from Pakistan who was the Prime Minister of that country from June 30, 2004 until August 28, 2004. He hails from the province of the Punjab, where his cousin Chaudhry Pervez Elahi served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2007.He belongs to Waraich Muslim Jat family.

[edit] Politics

Chaudhry Shujaat became a member of the federal parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) in 1981 and until 1985 when he contested in the general election from Gujrat on both the National and Punjab Assemblies seats. After the elections he had to vacate his Punjab Assembly seat in favour of the National Assembly seat he had one and he became a member of the then Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo’s cabinet Minister. He served a further four terms as a member of the national assembly after being elected (1988, 1990, 1997, 2002). He also acted as the parliamentary party leader of the PML-N in the National Assembly. Over the years he held several portfolios as a Federal Minister including Information and Broadcasting (1986), Industries and Production (1987-1988), Interior (1990-1993), and Interior & Narcotics Control (1997–1999). Chaudhry Shujaat was an active political leader as well, heading the Parliamentary Party of Joint Opposition in the National Assembly from 1988 to 1990. He was President of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in Punjab from 1997 to 1999, led the Parliamentary Party then called PML-Q beginning in December 2002, was President of the Pakistan Muslim League in January 2003 and was elected President of Pakistan Muslim League on May 12, 2004.^{[citation needed]}

On the international scene, he has been named an Honorary Consul General in the Republic of South Korea (1982) and was awarded Korea's highest diplomatic award Order of the Diplomatic Service Merit "Ueung-in-Metal" for distinguished services in promoting mutual relations between Pakistan and Republic of Korea.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, then Pakistan's interim Prime Minister, sees off U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, after their July 2004 meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Islamabad, Pakistan.

In 1994, Choudhry Shujaat Hussain became a member of the Senate of Pakistan and the Chairman of the Senate's standing committee on defence, production and aviation from 1993 to 1997. He won the general election again in 1997 by defeating PPP candidate Ahmed Mukhtar. Nawaz Sharif appointed Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as the Interior Minister in his cabinet, and Hussain was elected the president of PML in 1997.

[edit] Prime minister of Pakistan

After the Nawaz Sharif government was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999, several PML-N dissidents formed a group under Mian Muhammad Azhar's leadership. Earlier, Chaudhry Shujaat did not join any group, but after Nawaz Sharif's exile, he also joined Mian Azhar and formed the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in March 2001. In the general election of October 2002, Chaudhry Shujaat was elected to the National Assembly. He has also been elected unopposed for three years in a row as president of the PML (Q), which was Pakistan's ruling party from 2003 to 2008.

Ch. Shujaat Hussain, who heads the ruling faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, PML (QA) took the post in a caretaker position on June 30, 2004 four days after Zafarullah Jamali resigned all of a sudden. Chaudhry Shujaat was elected leader of the house after securing 190 whereas his opponent ARD’s Makhdoom Amin Fahim got 76 votes. With a 27-member Cabinet, Ch. Shujaat Hussain announced after taking oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan: "We will continue to pursue the policies of the President with regard to good governance and economic development". Prime Minister Ch. Shujaat Hussain announced formation of a special parliamentary committee to resolve Balochistan crisis by initiating political dialogue and giving representation all parliamentary parties of the upper House in the committee and offered to act as a member of the committee to resolve the problem through talks. Taking into consideration that "the success of the next government will be evaluated on its economic performance," he said this very thinking led the Pakistan Muslim League and its allied parties to select Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz as the next executive head of the country. In an interview, he said: "My nomination by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and nomination of Shaukat Aziz after consulting the President were in line with the set traditions. There should be no hue and cry over such technicalities". Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah for being the first elected Prime Minister in the country’s history to leave the office, after discharging his obligations (only for 45 days), with dignity and honor.

A notable contribution of the 22nd Prime Minister during his short tenure is the introduction of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill that was hurriedly passed by the Parliament to protect the dignity, reputation and esteem of a person from any false and wanton accusation imposing enhanced punishments for libel. Most probably through the new Defamation Bill, he wanted to save all those from being regularly accused of getting huge bank loans which were later on written off.

Ch. Shujaat Hussain also directed the Punjab Government to declare village Gah in District Chakwal — birthplace of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — as a model village and the Government Boys Primary School at Gah as the 'Manmohan Singh Government Boys Primary School', as a gesture of goodwill to strengthen the peace process between Pakistan and India. Dr. Singh's family migrated to the Indian side of Punjab before Partition. When he became Prime Minister in May, there were celebrations in the Pakistani village where he was born and attended the primary school.

Another significant announcement made by him was that the coffin of Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, who evolved the nomenclature 'Pakistan' before partition, will be brought to Pakistan later this year for a formal burial in Pakistan. Chaudhry Rehmat Ali who is well-known for his historic pamphlet "Now or Never; Are we to live or perish forever?" had died in February 1951 and was buried in Cambridge City graveyard. Later, he coined the word 'Pakistan' for the Muslims who lived in the five northern states of India - Punjab, North West Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan.

Ch Shujaat Hussain was proved the best opposition and also Ruling leader and also prime minister of Pakistan in 2002 to 2008. He is one of the few politicans who is not tinted by the millions distributed by ISI to bring down the PPP government.[1]

On July 9, 2007, he led a delegation that attempted to negotiate with militants besieged in the Red Mosque in Islamabad shortly before the military stormed the mosque compound early the next day.^[1]

Shujaat was a candidate in the February 2008 parliamentary election for a seat from Gujrat (NA-105), where he faced Ahmad Mukhtar of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and a seat from Sialkot (NA-112).^[2] In what was considered an upset, he was defeated by Mukhtar in Gujrat. He was also defeated in Sialkot.^[3] Shujaat subsequently accepted the PML-Q's defeat in the election and said that it was free and fair.^[4]

[edit] See also

• Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi
• Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain
• Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain
• Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi
• Chaudhry Mubashar Hussain
• Chaudhry Aamir Sultan Cheema
• Moonis Elahi

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Some facts of Ch Shujaat hussain
• Story Of Pakistan Profile
• Official Website of Pakistan Muslim League