Kush causes disruption on his first day by trying to drive his van down Bridge Street, but ultimately makes friends due his laid-back personality. He is attracted to
Shabnam Masood (
Rakhee Thakrar), despite her coy nature, in an attempt to give Shabnam some Christmas spirit, he kisses her, but keeps this from his peers. Kush pushes Shabnam on her feelings for him, and she later has a one-night stand with him as she is upset over losing her job. She rejects him afterwards, feeling guilty for betraying her religious views, until Kush convinces her to start a relationship. They keep it a secret at first but when Shabnam's father
Masood Ahmed (
Nitin Ganatra) hears it from
Donna Yates (
Lisa Hammond), he is angry at them for keeping a secret. Shabnam persuades Masood to accept them but ends up lying that Kush has
proposed to her. When he tells her that it is happening too fast, as they have only been dating a short while, Shabnam is devastated at her actions and Masood throws him out. Afterwards, Kush confides in
Martin Fowler (
James Bye) that he is not ready for another marriage after the death of his first wife, Safirah. At Donna's 30th birthday party, he gets drunk and when Shabnam tries to talk to him, he tells her that he is still grieving over the loss of his wife. Eventually, Shabnam admits that she does not want to get married; she only lied about the proposal because she loves him. They decide to take things more slowly. Masood comes round to this, but tells them that he does not want to see Shabnam getting heartbroken. However, Kush later proposes to Shabnam after learning of her daughter from
Stacey Branning (
Lacey Turner), whom he had earlier kissed. After kissing Stacey a second time and regretting it, Kush finds out that Shabnam is five months pregnant with their child. He has initial doubts about this, but they soon begin planning their wedding. Seven months into her pregnancy, Shabnam's baby dies, leaving Kush heartbroken. Shabnam gives birth to their son, Zaair, but Kush is unable to cope and leaves the room. He visits Zaair later, cuddling him and telling him how proud he is. Shabnam and Kush argue because he was not there for her and she plans to move to Pakistan, while he considers returning to Essex with his mother
Carmel Kazemi (
Bonnie Langford). However, Carmel and Masood get them to reunite. Shabnam rearranges their wedding, hoping that being married will help them gain custody of her daughter
Jade Green (Amaya Edward). Kush thinks they are marrying for the wrong reasons, but they agree that they love each other and want to marry. Before the wedding, Shabnam tells Kush that Stacey's baby is not Martin's, and Stacey tells him she thinks he could be the father. Stacey swears a reluctant Kush to secrecy and he marries Shabnam and departs with her for their honeymoon. When Kush and Shabnam return, Kush learns on the day of Jade's hearing that Shabnam took Jade without permission. Kush and Shabnam decide not to go for custody of Jade when they realise they have not come to terms with Zaair's death. When Stacey's son
Arthur Fowler is born, Shabnam thinks Kush could be the father from his behaviour, and confronts Stacey, worried she will lose her husband, but Stacey tells her he is not the father, so Shabnam finds Kush and passionately kisses him. However, Shabnam later hears Kush talking to Carmel about Arthur being his son, and Shabnam begins to re-evaluate her marriage. She wants to tell Martin the truth about Arthur's paternity, but when Stacey's mental condition worsens, she and Kush agree to wait and Kush vows to prioritise Shabnam over Arthur. Kush suggests to Shabnam that they move away, but she decides to leave on her own, urging Kush to stay for Arthur. Masood finds out about this and Arthur's paternity, so punches Kush and threatens to kill him if he comes near Shabnam again, and tells him that Shabnam has already decided to leave Walford. Kush then breaks down in Carmel's arms, thinking he has lost Shabnam for good. Despite Kush's pleas, Shabnam leaves Walford with Jade after planting a tree in Zaair's memory, telling Kush that they must lead separate lives, but she still loves him. Kush then starts drinking heavily and Martin finds out that Kush is Arthur's father. Stacey tells Kush that he can be a part of Arthur's life, but Martin disagrees and breaks his friendship with Kush. An emotional Kush has sex with
Nancy Carter (
Maddy Hill), but she suffers an epileptic fit in his bed. Kush calls Nancy's former boyfriend,
Tamwar (
Himesh Patel), who calls Kush selfish. Kush realises he is a bad role model so tells Stacey and Martin that he wants nothing to do with Arthur. Tamwar calls Carmel, who agrees to move in with Kush. Carmel then reveals to Kush that his father,
Umar (
Selva Rasalingam), has sold their house and she is homeless. Kush develops feelings for Carmel's best friend
Denise Fox (
Diane Parish). They admit their feelings to each other and they have a brief fling, however, she ends it, fearing it will ruin her friendship with Carmel. Kush later discovers from Carmel that Denise is pregnant and believes he is the father, but Denise tells him he is not as she is 18 to 19 weeks pregnant. Kush later advises his younger brother
Shakil Kazemi (
Shaheen Jafargholi) when he wants to have sex with his girlfriend,
Bex Fowler (
Jasmine Armfield), who is Martin's daughter. When the explicit image Shakil sent to Bex goes viral around Shakil's school, Bex is blamed, even though
Louise Mitchell (
Tilly Keeper) was the one who sent it. This causes things to become fraught yet again between the Kazemis and the Fowlers. Kush pursues Denise again but she turns him down due to her friendship with Carmel. However, when Kush is in the fish and chip shop after having a drink with Denise,
Michelle Fowler (
Jenna Russell) crashes into it, leaving him unconscious. Denise helps rescue Kush, and while he is in hospital, she admits her feelings for him and they start a relationship. Back home, Carmel interrupts Kush and Denise one morning, but assumes that Kush has met a doctor from the hospital, which he confirms. Denise tells Kush that they should admit to their relationship from the start, so they tell Carmel, who is shocked, and says that when the relationship ends, she would be forced to take Kush's side and would lose her friend forever. Kush asks Denise to move in with him but she declines where Kush accuses her of comparing him to her controlling ex-husband,
Owen Turner (
Lee Ross). Kush storms off and goes into
cardiac arrest in the middle of the market, and is diagnosed with
Brugada Syndrome. Denise regrets rejecting him and spontaneously proposes to him in the hospital; he accepts. Later, Kush's other brother,
Darius Kazemi (Ash Rizi), offers him work in Dubai but Kush and Carmel are left devastated when Shakil, while returning a stolen bike taken by his friend
Keegan Baker (
Zack Morris), dies after being stabbed by a gang. When Kush and Denise end their relationship, he begins having a secret sexual relationship with
Kat Moon (
Jessie Wallace). The pair decide to keep it a secret due to the complicated relationship Kush has with the Slaters and Fowlers, but when they are caught having sex, they admit to being together. When Kush sees
Whitney Dean (
Shona McGarty) being harassed on a balcony by
Leo King (Tom Wells), he rushes to her defence, and accidentally pushes Leo over the balcony. Kush is killed on 19 April 2021 after being pushed in front of an oncoming train by
Gray Atkins (
Toby-Alexander Smith) as he attempts to flee to
Dubai with Whitney and Arthur after informing the police of a car heist that took place in November 2020 involving the
Mitchell family and
Shirley Carter (
Linda Henry). As Whitney took Arthur to the toilet, Gray confronted Kush and the two men had harsh words with Gray telling Kush that Whitney is his life. After a brief tussle Gray falls onto the track as a train approaches, Kush frantically tries to save Gray and pulls him up to safety, but Gray turns and shoves Kush onto the tracks where he is killed by the oncoming train. The next day, the residents mourn Kush, especially Whitney, Martin and Denise. Later, in The Queen Vic,
Mick Carter (
Danny Dyer) invites all of Kush's friends to raise a glass to their friend. Kush's body is flown to Dubai to buried near his family and Martin and Sonia fly over to attend the funeral. In March 2022, Gray is arrested for Kush's murder, as well as for the murders of his first wife
Chantelle Atkins (
Jessica Plummer) and
Tina Carter (
Luisa Bradshaw-White). ==Reception==