November 21, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 15, 1423

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LAHORE, Nov 20: The PPP’s central organization has issued show-cause notices to three senior members — Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Naurez Shakoor — on the charge of violating party discipline by voting for PML-Q candidates for NA speaker and deputy speaker.

Party’s Punjab president Qasim Zia and information secretary Naveed Chaudhry told reporters here on Wednesday that the leaders in question had been given seven days to explain their position. In case their explanation was not found satisfactory, they could be expelled.

District presidents and secretaries-general of Jhang, Okara and Sahiwal, to which the ‘respondent’ MNAs belong, told reporters at the party’s provincial secretariat that since all three were senior leaders, the party should not expel them instantly. Instead, they said they should be issued a stern warning not to violate discipline at the time of prime minister’s election on Thursday.

Ten PPP MNAs have set up a dissident group who voted for the PML-Q in the Tuesday elections. These leaders want a government of national unity to enable the system to work smoothly.

Qasim Zia and Naveed Chaudhry said action against the remaining seven MNAs would also be taken.