Peshawar: Provincial minister Liaquat Khattak has been removed from the cabinet of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government after he supported Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate in Friday's by-elections in PK 63.

According to details, Liaquat Khattak, who is also the brother of federal Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, was removed for violating party discipline and supporting a rival candidate in the by-elections. 

Kamran Bangash, the provincial Minister for Information, said that the action was taken by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan. 

PML-N's Ikhtiar Wali won the elections by securing 21,122 votes as opposed to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Umar Kakakhel who managed to bag 17,023 votes. The win by PML-N was considered an upset for the ruling party as Nowshera is the home town of the former Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and considered a stronghold of the party.