Samina Khalid Ghurki

Samina Khalid Ghurki is a Pakistani politician who served as the Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education from November 2008 until February 2011. She subsequently held the position of Federal Minister for Environment from February 2011 to June 2011. Later, she was appointed the Federal Minister for National Heritage and Integration, serving from October 2011 to March 2013, excluding a brief period following the removal of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in June 2012.

Early life and education Ghurki was born on 13 August 1956, in Lahore, Punjab. She obtained her B.A. degree from the Lahore College for Women University in 1976.

Political career Ghurki entered politics in 2002 when her husband and brothers-in-law were ineligible to run for office due to the lack of university degrees. She received 46,095 votes, prevailing over Ijaz Ahmad Dayel, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q), who secured 33,491 votes. She became the first woman to get elected from a general seat in Lahore.

Ghurki held several ministerial roles during her tenure as a member of the National Assembly. On 4 November 2008, Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed her as the Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education, a role she held until 11 February 2011. She then briefly served as the Federal Minister for Environment from 11 February to 30 June 2011 which included a portfolio of Women Development assigned to her on 5 March. She held both positions until 30 June 2011.

In 2012, Ghurki was among nine female Members of Parliament from Pakistan who endorsed the UNIFEM's "Say No to Violence Against Women" campaign in New York.

In July 2017, Ghurki was appointed as the president of the PPP Punjab Women Wing. Previously, she has served as a president of PPP Lahore. On 8 March, she was sworn in as a member of the National Assembly. On 13 May 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended her membership as a member of the National Assembly. This action followed a Supreme Court of Pakistan decision to suspend the verdict of the Peshawar High Court, which had denied the allocation of a reserved seat to the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council bloc. On 22 September 2024, she again became a member of the National Assembly by securing another reserved women's seat as a PPP candidate from Punjab.

Personal life Samina Khalid Ghurki was married to Khalid Javaid Ghurki until his death in 2011. Her husband also served as a member of the National Assembly. She is a mother of two sons, Adnan and Sufian, and two daughters.