ISLAMABAD, March 7: Secretary General of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Iqbal Zafar Jhagra has issued a show-cause notice to a party MNA from Lahore, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, for issuing statements against the top party leadership and interfering in the party's organizational matters, sources told Dawn here on Monday.

The sources said the secretary-general had issued the notice to Mr Rafiq on the directive of party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif. Mr Rafiq, they said, had been asked to submit the reply to the charges levelled against him in the notice within a period of seven days after receipt of the notice. The sources said Mr Rafiq was expected to receive the notice on Tuesday (today).

It may be mentioned that the rift in the PML-N came to surface when Mr Rafiq levelled allegations against the party's acting parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan accusing him of working against the party's interests.

The MNA had alleged that Chaudhry Nisar was not in favour of launching a resistance movement against the military rulers and wanted to have reconciliation with them.

He had also alleged that the present local leadership for making efforts to push back hard liners and impose those people on the party who had done nothing for the PML-N in the last five years when the party was in deep trouble. He had also alleged that Chaudhry Nisar had not visited Adiyala Jail to see the acting PML-N president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi for the past 16 months.

On the other hand, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had stated that he would not speak on the issue as he had left the matter on the party and its chief Nawaz Sharif. The acting PML-N parliamentary leader had accused Mr Rafiq of making the party a laughing stock before the people by taking its internal matters to the public.

He had also categorically rejected the charges that he was in favour of reconciliation, saying the party was determined to eliminate dictatorship from the country and there was a very clear party guideline and policy in this regard.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Rafiq said so far he had not received any notice. However, he said, if any notice had been issued to him by the party's central organization, he would receive it and submit a detailed reply.

He said those who had issued notice should have a "moral courage" to read the reply of a middle class politician, who had been with the party for the past 25 years. "I will not allow any Chaudhry or Sardar to confine the party to the drawing-room politics," he said.

He added that he had not violated any party discipline and was following the party's guidelines. However, Mr Rafiq said he would give further comments after receiving the notice.

Meanwhile, another source told Dawn that Chaudhry Nisar on Monday held a detailed meeting with the jailed ARD president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi for the first time since Mr Hashmi's arrest on October 29, 2003 on treason charges.