The Punjab government approved on Wednesday the decision to deploy Rangers across the province during the by-elections for the seats vacated after the de-notification of the dissident lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order gave its approval and a request was sent to the Election Commission and federal government.

The Election Commission had announced the by-polls on 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly to be held on July 17.

The ECP had de-notified dissident PTI MPAs who had voted for PML-N’s Hamza Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister’s election on May 23.