March, 19 2005	Saturday	08 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 18: Secretary-General Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Iqbal Zafar Jhagra has issued a final show-cause notice to party MNA from Lahore Khwaja Saad Rafiq asking him to submit a written reply by March 25, sources told Dawn on Friday. The sources said Mr Jhagra had taken a serious note of violation of party discipline by Mr Rafiq by not responding to a show cause notice issued to him on March 7, asking him to submit the reply by March 15. Khwaja Saad Rafiq was issued the show cause notice for levelling allegations against the party’s central leadership and interfering in the organisational matters of the party. Mr Rafiq had also been accused of making the party’s internal affairs public thus causing damage to the party’s image.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Rafiq said he would give a written reply, if directed by the party Quaid Nawaz Sharif. When asked as to why he did not submit the reply of the March 7 show cause notice, Mr Rafiq said he had already informed Nawaz Sharif in writing about his viewpoint.

When contacted for official comments, PML-N Information Secretary Siddiqul Farooque confirmed that Mr Rafiq had been issued a final show cause notice after his failure to respond to the earlier notice. He claimed that the final notice had been issued by Mr Jhagra on the approval of Nawaz Sharif, President Shahbaz Sharif and Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.

Mr Farooque said Nawaz Sharif had told the local leadership that there would be no compromise on the party discipline. When asked about Mr Rafiq’s claim that he had already submitted a written reply to Nawaz Sharif, Mr Farooque said he could not confirm about anything which did not exist.