Pakistan's new ISI chief, Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, is the nephew of Indian National Army hero Shah Nawaz Khan and through him, shares a tenuous link with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
'Islam's father served as a brigadier in the Pakistan Army. Shah Nawaz Khan, who was a major general in the INA led by Subhas Chandra Bose, was his uncle,' a leading Pakistani defence analyst said.
One of Shah Nawaz's son went with him at the time of partition, while the other, Mahmood Nawaz, stayed in Pakistan and became a colonel.
Shah Rukh Khan (left) and new ISI chief Zaheerul Islam
'In fact, Mahmood Nawaz met his father only after retirement as he could not travel to India while he was in service,' Sehgal said, providing details of the new ISI chief's extended family.
Shah Rukh's late mother Lateef Fatima was the adopted daughter of Shah Nawaz, as to the star's biography on several websites reveal.
Islam, who was on Friday appointed the new head of the powerful spy agency by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, comes from a military background and was born Rawalpindi.
It could not immediately be ascertained whether Islam had ever met Shah Nawaz, who died in 1983.
Before Islam's appointment as the ISI chief, some media reports had suggested that Saif Ali Khan's uncle Maj Gen Isfandyar Ali Khan Pataudi, a deputy director general in the spy agency, was in the running for the top slot.
However, sources said Pataudi was never seen as a serious contender for the post of ISI chief.
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