ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 The newly-formed Chattha faction of the PML-Q was jolted on Tuesday by reports that its ad hoc secretary-general, Humayun Akhtar, had met former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in London.

The group - which distanced itself from the former president by apologising to the nation for supporting the Musharraf regime - is finding it hard to justify the meeting of party leaders with Gen (retd) Musharraf.

On the other hand, the Chaudhrys are trying to mollify lawmakers who still support them.

Party sources claimed that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was considering serving show-cause notices on all dissident leaders and file references against party legislators who left the party and joined the new faction.

The Chattha faction is trying to dispel the impression that it had deserted the Chaudhrys and carved out a new party.

However the leadership is in a quandary following reports that Mr Akhtar held a meeting with Pervez Musharraf.

Sources said Gen (retd) Musharraf tasked Humayun Akhtar to organise the party in such a way that it could challenge the PML-Q's Chaudhry faction.

The ad hoc secretary-general of the Chattha League left London for the US, denying that he met Gen (retd) Musharraf.

The faction's president, Salim Saifullah Khan, told Dawn that there was nothing wrong in “meeting with one's former boss”.

”Humayun Akhtar has done nothing wrong if he has met the general.”

He said that he had been felicitated by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz for forming the faction, but he had “not personally met or talked” with the former general over the past one and a half years.

He said “We have worked under him (Musharraf), but we will not allow him to run the party or decide its political moves.” Mr Khan said that “even the Chaudhrys would not deny if they were to meet the former president”.

He said in recent days, the faction's chairman, Hamid Nasir Chattha, and several others had met Gen (retd) Musharraf.

He, however, said that the party was not ready to defend the general if he was tried for treason.