LAHORE, July 24: In a bid to get a better result in the Punjab in next elections, the Jamaat-i-Islami has decided to appoint its most active central leader, after amir Qazi Husain Ahmad, Liaquat Baloch as the provincial chief.

Mr Baloch is at present serving as the central naib amir of the party and deputy secretary-general of the six-party religious alliance, MMA.

In the Jamaat’s hierarchy, offices of provincial chiefs are considered as most important after the central amir.

Sources said a decision to post Mr Baloch as Punjab amir had been taken a couple of days ago and he would take oath as the acting amir on July 28 after the return of Qazi Husain from his foreign visit.

The sources said though religious forces had achieved a record success in the NWFP and Balochistan in the last general election, their defeat in the Punjab had become a question mark.

According to them, no decision has so far been taken about the present provincial chief Hafiz Idrees, a literary personality.

He is likely to be made central naib amir or appointed as head of the institution responsible for Jamaat’s publications.

Mr Baloch has earlier served as Lahore amir of the Jamaat before being elevated to the post of central deputy secretary-general. He has also been Islami Jamiat Talaba’s central president during his student life.

He entered the parliamentary politics for the first time after winning a National Assembly seat in Lahore in 1985 polls. He retained the seat in 1988 but lost in 1990 and 1993 elections.

The Jamaat had boycotted the 1997 elections while in 2002 polls he again made through to the National Assembly with a big margin. — Amjad Mahmood