Shahrukh Khan's cousin set to contest Pakistan elections, candidature accepted

The election commission of the province has accepted Noor Jehan's nomination papers to contest the elections for the provincial legislature on a general seat from Peshawar city.

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's paternal cousin, Noor Jehan, is all set to contest Pakistan general elections as an independent candidate. Jehan would be contesting from the PK-77 constituency of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

Jehan and her family reside in Shah Wali Qataal area, adjacent to the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazaar. Jehan has visited Shahrukh Khan twice and the family maintains a close contact with their relatives across the border, a report said.

Jehan is contesting as an independent after the Awami National Party (ANP) denied her a ticket. Her family has been associated with the ANP for decades. She said her forefathers had an association with the ANP since partition in 1947, reported PTI.

"I want to work for women's empowerment. I'd like to focus on the problems in my constituency," Jehan was quoted by The Express Tribune as saying.

The election commission of the province has accepted her nomination papers to contest the elections for the provincial legislature on a general seat from Peshawar city. She said she had applied for the ANP ticket both for the general seat and seats reserved for women in the KP Assembly but she was denied the party ticket. Therefore, she decided to contest the polls as an independent, the PTI report said.

Jehan's brother, Mansoor, who is leading her election campaign, told a Pakistani daily that her sister had previously served as a councillor.

Mansoor added that their family had been a part of the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of Gods) movement during the pre-Independence days, which was led by freedom activist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who was also known as Bacha Khan, as per the report.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an eminent figure during the freedom movement in unified India. He is also known as 'Frontier Gandhi'.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs