LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, Feb 17: The Pakistan People’s Party on Tuesday suspended the central executive committee membership of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and Senator Safdar Abbasi for issuing ‘harsh’ statements against its leadership.

Mr Ahsan has also been accused of violating party discipline by leading ‘long marches’.

PPP secretary-general Jahangir Badr told reporters that a show-cause notice had been sent to Mr Ahsan’s residence, adding that the notice had also been e-mailed to him.

Another CEC member from Sindh has also been served a show-cause, Mr Badr said but did not name the member.

Reacting to the reports, Mr Ahsan said despite the suspension of his CEC membership, he would not retreat from his principled stand on reinstatement of judges and he could not be badgered into abandoning the lawyers’ movement.

Barrister Ahsan said that he had yet to receive the notice.

Senator Abbasi is not in the country and could not be contacted.

Mr Ahsan said: “If anybody thinks that I will leave the lawyers’ movement after my CEC membership is suspended, he is daydreaming.”

Mr Ahsan said he could not comment on the suspension notice, without having gone through it. However, he said he hoped the notice had been served with the consent of the PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari.

He said he had never violated party rules or discipline, adding that he had only echoed slogans raised by the previous party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, who had said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry would be reinstated whenever her party came into power.

“Not only Ms Bhutto, but President Zardari had also promised the nation thrice — on March 9, Aug 7 and Aug 15 in 2008 — that he would reinstate Justice Chaudhry without any precondition.”

He dispelled a notion about differences between him and the PPP leadership, and said there was no truth in such reports.

Commenting on the procedure of suspension the CEC membership, he said it was the prerogative of the CEC to suspend any member, but the party’s secretary-general alone could not do it.

A number of lawyers and media teams visited the residence of Aitzaz Ahsan.