OKARA: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has awarded ticket to Ashraf Sohna to contest a bypoll for NA-144.

A PTI board consisting of Chaudhry Sarwar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi interviewed candidates -- Rao Hasan Sikander, Rao Khalid Mustafa Khan and Shazia Ahmad -- in Islamabad on Friday, PTI district organiser Chaudhry Azhar Mahmood told Dawn.

The decision was announced on Saturday.

Similarly, the PPP has awarded party ticket to PPP district president and former MNA Chaudhry Sajjadul Hasan.

The PML-N has yet to choose its candidate out of Ali Arif Chaudhry, Chaudhry Riazul Haq (Riaz Juj) and Rana Ikram Rabbani.

This seat fell vacant when an election tribunal de-seated PML-N MNA Muhammad Arif Chaudhry.

Mr Chaudhry along with his son, Arif Chaudhry, provincial minister Mian Yawar Zaman, MPA Mian Muhammad Munir and MNA Mian Javed Latif held a meeting with Hamza Shahbaz asking ticket for his son.

Sources said that Hamza had asked Mr Chaudhry to start his election campaign in the constituency and assured him the ticket would be given to Ali Arif.

Anjuman Mozareen Punjab Secretary-General Mehr Abdul Sattar is also going to contest the election as an independent candidate.

Mr Sattar contested election for PP-191 in the 2013 general election on a PPP ticket and remained runner-up with 37,000 votes.

He told Dawn he had also applied for the PPP ticket but the party turned down his application. He said he would contest the by-election as an independent candidate.

Polling is going to be held on Oct 11.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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