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

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

from August 2018 till January 2023.

Personal life

Iqbal was born in a

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval India, medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hin ...

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. A list of villages in Raikot tehsil is given on t ...

, in

Indian Punjab Punjab (; ) is a state in northern 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, and R ...

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

, with an uncle who was a minister under

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

while another uncle,

Rai Hassan Nawaz Rai Hassan Nawaz (; born 1 November 1955) is a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between 2013 and 2015. Previously, he served three terms on the Punjab Assembly, from 1988 to 1990, 1990 to 1993, and 1997 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. It has been thought that the city's original name was Jagar ...

in 1680, all located in the

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab, India, 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 ...

, 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 ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic 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 ...

, their ancestor Rai Kalha III having hosted

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

in 1705. Iqbal is a law graduate from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, in the UK.

Political career

Iqbal was elected to the

from Constituency

NA-149 (Sahiwal-III) NA-143 Sahiwal-III () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. Election 2002 General elections were held on 10 Oct 2002. Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari of National Alliance won by 39,312 votes. Election 2008 General ele ...

as a candidate of

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

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

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 {{Pakistan-MNA-stub