Shaukat Basra

Shaukat Mahmood Basra is a Pakistani lawyer and 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 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

Pakistan Peoples Party

Basra began his career in politics as a tehsil president in 1996, as a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He contested in the 2008 Punjab provincial election from constituency PP-283 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.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

In December 2018, Basra parted ways with the PPP and announced that he had joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Personal life

Family

Basra is married and has one child.
His cousin, Col Naveed Iqbal Sajid, was also a member of the Punjab provincial assembly.

Attack by gunfire

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.