Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

from August 2018 till January 2023.

Personal life

Iqbal was born in a Muslim Bhatti Rajput family with roots in

Raikot Raikot is a city and municipal council in Ludhiana district in Indian state of Punjab. Raikot is one of the tehsils in Ludhiana district of Punjab. there are total 76 villages in this tehsil. List of villages in Raikot A list of villages ...

, in

Indian Punjab Punjab () is a state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, a ...

Jalandhar district Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. The district headquarters is the city of Jalandhar. Before the Partition of India, Jalandhar was also the headquarters of the Jalandhar Division, with constituent ...

, with an uncle who was a minister under

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

while another uncle,

Rai Hassan Nawaz Rai Hassan Nawaz (; born 1 November 1955) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since February 2024 and previously served in this position between 2013 and 2015. Previously, he served three terms on t ...

, has been a politician as well. Iqbal's ancestor Tulsi Das converted to Islam in 1323 and took the name Rai Sirajuddin, before founding the Chakar village, another ancestor Rai Kalha I founded

Talwandi Rai Talwandi Rai is a village in Ludhiana district in the India of Punjab (India), Punjab. It is 37 km from Ludhiana city, near Raikot. History Talwandi Rai was reputedly founded in 1478 AD by the Rai Kalha I who was a Muslim Rajput. The vill ...

in 1478, another, Rai Azizullah, founded

in 1648 while yet another ancestor, Rai Kamaluddin, founded

Jagraon Jagraon is a city and a municipal council, a rural police district and a sub-division of the Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Jagraon is more than three centuries old. Jagraon is at almost the geographical center of the state, f ...

in 1680, all located in the

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are bicycle parts ...

, while other influential political figures from his family include his grandfather Rai Mohammad Iqbal, an MLA from Talwandi Rai in pre-Partition Punjab while his uncle Rai Aziz Ullah has been the custodian of the Ganga Sagar, a sacred relic for

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

, their ancestor Rai Kalha III having hosted

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

in 1705. Iqbal is a law graduate from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, in the UK.

Political career

Iqbal was elected to the

from Constituency NA-149 (Sahiwal-III) as a candidate of

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

in the

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. He was elected again as an MPA from PP-203 Sahiwal-VI by securing 55,874 votes as an independent candidate backed by PTI in 2024.

References

Living people Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Punjab MPAs 2024–2029 Aitchison College alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester {{PakistanTehreekeInsaf-MNA-stub