Shaukat Mahmood Basra
# Shaukat Mahmood Basra

Shaukat Mahmood Basra (Urdu/Punjabi: شوکت محمود بسرا; born 1 March 1966) is a Pakistani politician who was a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2008 to 2013.

## Early life and education

Shaukat Mahmood Basra was born on 1 March 1966 in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, to father Nabi Ahmad Basra. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Karachi and is a qualified advocate. Basra hails from the town of Haroonabad in the Bahawalnagar District of Punjab.

## Political career

Basra began his career in politics as a tehsil president in 1996, as a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He contested in the 2008 Punjab provincial election from constituency PP-283 (Bahawalnagar-VII) on behalf of the parliamentarians wing of the PPP. He received 43,279 votes and defeated Chaudhry Ghulam Murtaza of the PML-Q, thus becoming an elected member of the 15th provincial assembly and taking oath on 9 April 2008. He remained in office until 2013. During his tenure, Basra served as a Parliamentary Secretary from January 2009 to February 2011 and was also a member of the Special Committee for Finance.

In the 2013 Punjab provincial election, Basra contested once again from the same constituency on a PPP ticket. He received 11,525 votes and lost to Chaudhry Ghulam Murtaza contesting on behalf of the PML-Z this time, placing third in the poll behind runner-up Ashraf-ul-Islam of the PML-N.

In the 2018 general election, Basra contested for a seat in the National Assembly from constituency NA-169 Bahawalnagar-IV as an independent candidate. He received 52,068 votes and lost to Noorul Hassan Tanvir of the PML-N, placing third behind runner-up Ijaz-ul-Haq of the PML-Z.

During his time with the PPP, Basra worked as the information secretary for the PPP's South Punjab chapter. In December 2018, Basra parted ways with the PPP and announced that he had joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

## Personal life

Basra is married and has one child. His cousin, Naveed Iqbal Sajid, was also a member of the Punjab provincial assembly. In February 2017, Basra was the victim of gunfire en route to a political rally in Haroonabad in which his personal assistant was killed, while Basra himself suffered serious injuries. The attack occurred when a heated conflict broke out between rival members of the PPP and PML-Z.

