Elahi was elected to the National Assembly in 1970, as one of the few members of the
Pakistan Muslim League elected in those elections. Following the fall of
East Pakistan in 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the new leader of Pakistan. After coming to power,
Bhutto nationalized all major industries, including flour mills. Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi was among the nine opposition parliamentary leaders who were removed from the
Parliament House on Bhutto's orders. He faced legal actions and was implicated in several cases during Bhutto's rule, including alleged buffalo theft and the alleged supply of Iraqi arms to rebels in
Balochistan. He was arrested for delivering an anti-government speech at the
Hotel Intercontinental in
Karachi, and a special tribunal sentenced him to five years imprisonment. He remained imprisoned in different jails, mostly at the
Karachi jail. The
Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) gained momentum after 1977, and major PNA leaders, including Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, were arrested. Elahi and others were released when General
Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto's government in a military coup on July 5, 1977.
General Zia ul Haq announced fresh elections within 90 days. Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi filed his nomination papers from Gujrat and Constituency No.3 of Lahore, where Z. A. Bhutto had also declared his candidacy. However, these elections were postponed when General Zia-ul-Haq arrested Bhutto. Due to the deteriorating financial state of the nationalized industries, the Zia government decided to return them to their original owners, and the Chaudhry family took charge of their previously nationalized flour mills. ==1980s==