FAISALABAD, Sept 15: After interviewing more than 30 candidates, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has issued a ticket to Khwaja Liaquat, elder brother of recently disqualified MPA Khwaja Mohammad Islam, for the PP-72 by-election.

Khwaja Islam had been disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 18 when the Higher Education Commission (HEC) submitted a report to the court declaring his academic degree fake. The court had sent Islam’s case to District and Sessions Judge Khaliquz Zaman for proceeding. The judge granted pre-arrest bail to Islam on Friday and fixed Sept 21 for the next hearing.

Around 34 candidates filed their nomination papers for the PP-72 by-election, a seat that got vacant after Islam’s disqualification. Prominent candidates vying for the ticket included Israr Ahmed alias Munne Khan, Shahid Razzaq Sakka, Shahid Mahmood Baig, Sheikh Yousaf, Amin Butt, Raja Adnan Tariq and Mehr Hamid Rasheed.

Sources privy to the development told Dawn that Munne Khan was being considered as a potential candidate because of his backing by former senator Farooq Khan, a close associate of the Sharif brothers. However, the party bosses were requested by some lawmakers from Faisalabad to award the ticket to a family member of Khwaja Islam considering his services for the party. At the same time, they said, some party activists had suggested avoiding issuing a ticket to Islam’s family, saying it could bring a bad name to the party.

The sources said the party bosses were informed that Islam had earlier forced a poor electrician to reach a compromise with his henchman who had gunned down his minor son.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had taken a suo motu notice of this forced reconciliation and transferred the then Faisalabad city police officer. A case was also registered against Islam.

Several candidates had even put up their posters in various localities featuring pictures of their mentors and the Sharif brothers. Some of them had tried to show their muscle by organising rallies.

The PML-N had fielded Islam in the last general election amid a controversy that his BA degree was fake and a case was pending with the apex court. However, the party issued him a ticket considering him a strong candidate.

Islam had won the seat by securing 53,899 votes, while his rival Sheikh Salman Arif of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf could get only 22,003 votes.

In the last general election, 29 candidates were in the run for the PP-72 seat, and a large number had filed papers as covering candidates.

Following announcement of the ticket being issued, a large number of PML-N activists and supporters of the Khwaja family rushed towards the election office on Jail Road. They shouted slogans in favour of Khwaja Liaquat and said the party had chosen a suitable candidate.

Parliamentarians, including MNA Haji Akram Ansari, Mian Abdul Mannan and MPA Nawaz Malik, also reached the office and congratulated Khwaja Islam.

Khwaja Liaquat would be contesting the election for the first time, while his younger brother Islam would lend his support to win the seat.