KARACHI: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday rejected nomination papers of Aansoo Kohli, dubbed as Sindh’s Malala, for the upcoming general elections.
According to details, the Returning Officer (RO) Umerkot rejected the nomination papers of Aansoo Kohli on bases of being underage. The candidate is 23-years and nine-months-old while minimum age for applying for MNA seat is 25 years, RO officer remarked.
Upon rejection of her papers, Aansoo said that she was disappointed but vowed to continue her mission. “Although I am sad, but never mind, I will contest in next elections. Also, I would continue my struggle for the better future of children in my area,” she told Daily Times.
The 23-year-old had filed her nomination papers to contest general elections on Tharparkar’s constituency NA-220 as independent candidate.
Aansoo, a physically impaired girl, rose to fame in 2014 when she converted her cattle pen into a school for children in her area. Her students are mostly from the underprivileged Kohli community.
Aansoo soon became a symbol of pride when she offered education to boys and girls, even those who were physically and mentally impaired, although she had no formal training in teaching special children.
The school is established in Mina Ji Dhani village, located around 27 kilometers from the Umerkot city. She started with 8 students but the number has now increased to over 300.
On her contributions, the then Sindh Assembly dubbed Aansoo as ‘Sindh’s Malala’ – after youngest Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai’s advocacy for education.
The processes leading to the general elections — including the scrutiny of nomination papers to exclude ineligible candidates from the race — started on Tuesday, a day after returning officers (ROs) completed the process of receiving nomination papers from prospective candidates.
Meanwhile PPP-Parliamentarian’s Nawab Yusuf Talpur, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA)’s candidate former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi got clearance to contest election from NA-220 Tharparkar after the concerned Returning Officer okayed nomination papers during scrutiny.
In 2013 elections, PPP-P’s Nawab Yusuf Talpur won the seat.