Has Shujaat Hussain convinced Parvez Elahi to quit PTI in jail?

Following a meeting with incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President and his cousin Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in Camp Jail, Lahore, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Monday hinted at former’s departure from the ex-ruling party.

Officials, who had knowledge about the visit, shared that Shujaat’s son Chaudhry Salik Hussain was also present in the meeting. Shujaat inquired about his cousin’s health and discussed the evolving political situation in the country after the May 9 riots, the sources said.

Elahi was taken into custody by anti-corruption officials near his residence in Lahore on June 1 in the Rs70 million corruption case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.

The PML-Q had suspended the basic party membership of Elahi for talking about the possibility of the party's possible merger with the PTI in January this year. On March 7, the former Punjab chief minister was formally appointed as the PTI president.

Talking exclusively to Geo News, the PML-Q president confirmed the report about his meeting with Elahi in the prison.

“Parvez Elahi is part of our family, hence I visited him [in jail],” he added. Giving details, the senior politician said, Elahi’s health condition was not good and his feet were also swollen.

When asked if Elahi is rejoining PML-Q, Shujaat said, “Parvez Elahi is already in our party.”

Shujaat posed a meaningful smile when the reporter told him that Elahi was the president of the PTI.