Originally a loyalist of Nawaz Sharif, Hussain defected to autocratic leader Pervez Musharraf after 1999 and became member of the new PML-Q. 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. Following the 2008 elections and Musharraf's resignation, Hussain and his party became a major ally of Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and President Asif Ali Zardari from the Pakistan Peoples Party.
