ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party dissociated itself from the anti-judiciary rhetoric of its firebrand Senator Syed Faisal Raza Abidi and issued a notice to him on Monday for violating party discipline.

Mr Abidi had made some serious allegations against judges at a press conference at PPP’s central secretariat on Sunday.

When contacted, Senator Abidi confirmed that he had received the notice from the party’s secretary general Jehangir Badar and said he would respond to it in accordance with the party rules.

The notice gives 10 days to the senator, who resigned last month as PPP’s Karachi division president for unexplained reasons, to give a written reply and explain his position.

Besides facing a possible disciplinary action from the party, Senator Abidi could also face a serious situation because lawyer Tariq Asad has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against him for his alleged contemptuous remarks.

The petitioner asks the court to take action against the senator under the contempt law for making “humiliating remarks” and “ridiculing” the chief justice and judiciary and criticising the court’s judgment with “mala fide intention”.

Sources in the party told Dawn that Mr Abidi who had been vigorously defending the PPP and President Asif Ali Zardari in TV talk shows for three years had lost the trust of his boss after developing differences with the president’s sister Faryal Talpur who is not only the chief of PPP’s women’s wing but is said to be practically running the affairs of the party, particularly in Sindh.

The sources said Mr Abidi was also unhappy with the Sindh government for its failure to stop sectarian killings in Karachi.

Like another sidelined leader, Senator Babar Awan, Mr Abidi was considered to be a close associate of President Zardari and he was attending high-level meetings at the presidency as a member of the party’s ‘core committee’.